Three subjects placed No. 1 globally, NTU Singapore ranks highly in latest US News & World Report rankings

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has achieved its best performance in the US News & World Report’s global university rankings this year. NTU moved up 5 spots to 38th place internationally and has 8 subjects ranked among the global top 10 and first in Singapore.

NTU is ranked first globally for 3 subjects: Energy & Fuels, Materials Science and Nanoscience & Nanotechnology (see table below). NTU debuted at No.1 for Energy & Fuels, and Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, two subjects that were newly introduced this year, while retaining the top spot for the fourth consecutive year in Materials Science. These three fields represent highly interdisciplinary areas that encompass a broad range of domains.

In addition, it is placed in the global top 10 for Engineering (3rd), Chemical Engineering (3rd), Chemistry (4th), Electrical & Electronic Engineering (4th), and Computer Science (7th).

Civil Engineering (13th) and Mechanical Engineering (33rd) also did well, maintaining their positions in the global top 50. Other NTU subjects in the global top 100 include the Arts and Humanities (78th), Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology (82nd), and Economics and Business (97th).

NTU’s overall improvement in the US News & World Report global rankings was driven by its strong global and regional research reputation. Overall, NTU has climbed 87 places from the 125th spot since the US News & World Report rankings began in 2014. Since 2017, NTU has risen from 74th place to the 38th spot this year.

Professor Subra Suresh, NTU President, said, “Such international recognition is the result of the remarkable efforts of the NTU community who continue to work collaboratively to achieve the University’s mission and goals. Their firm commitment to excellence, coupled with the strong support from the Singapore government, have made it possible for NTU to continue to achieve good progress in its endeavours in research, education and innovation.

“All three areas where NTU is placed No. 1 globally represent highly interdisciplinary areas. This is a testament to the achievements of our faculty and students in interdisciplinary education and research. With the complexity of the grand challenges that Singapore and the world are facing, such as climate change and global pandemics, many solutions to the problems lie at the intersections of different disciplines. The foundations that we have laid to foster interdisciplinary interactions, as endorsed by this latest ranking, positions NTU well to address major challenges of importance to Singapore and the world.”

The rankings also show that while North American and European universities may still hold the top spots in many fields of knowledge, Asian universities continue to rise in rankings, in line with their increasing share of the world’s scientific research output, and they are challenging the dominance of their Western counterparts.

Various global indices use different methodologies and have different emphases in their assessments of universities. But while they reflect different perspectives of universities’ performance, almost all the major league tables indicate an upward trend for NTU.

NTU is ranked 13th globally in the QS World University Rankings and 1st among young universities below 50 for seven straight years. Separately, it is ranked 47th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and 10th in the inaugural World University Research Ranking. Its Nanyang MBA programme was also listed among the top 30 of the QS Global MBA Rankings this year.

Published annually, the US News & World Report rankings is based on 13 indicators including academic research performance, and global and regional reputations. This year’s rankings evaluated more than 1,600 institutions worldwide.

For more information on the US News & World Report global rankings, visit this website: www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings.