QS University Rankings 2023: IISc ranked world’s best research varsity

Regaining the pole position among public and private institutions from the country, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore was ranked at 155th place in the latest QS World University Rankings.

The premier institute also continued to prove its mettle in quality research, as it emerged as the global leader in the citations per faculty (CpF) indicator in the latest rankings. According to the indicator, when universities are adjusted for faculty size, IISc is the world’s best research university. It achieved a perfect score of 100/100 on this metric.

Further, as the fastest rising South Asian university on the QS rankings’ top 200 list, IISc gained 31 places year-on-year (YoY), up from 186th position last year.

The nineteenth edition of the international university rankings by global higher education analysts QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) featured 41 Indian universities, of which 12 improved their rankings, 12 remained stable, 10 saw a decline and seven were new entrants.

This year’s QS World University Rankings is the largest ever, with 1,418 institutions across 100 locations, up from 1,300 last year. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) finished a record-extending 11th consecutive year as world number one. The University of Cambridge rose to second place, while Stanford University remained in the third position.

Following IISc were some of the leading Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), all of whom improved their standing, while IIT Indore debuted at 396th rank (see box).

Among declared public institutions of eminence, while IISc, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras and IIT Kharagpur attained a higher rank, University of Delhi and University of Hyderabad saw a decline while Banaras Hindu University’s rank remained unchanged. On the other hand, two of the declared private institutions of eminence maintained the same rank — Manipal Academy of Higher Education and Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) — while O. P. Jindal Global University (JGU) rose to the next band of 651-700.

JGU is not only India’s top ranked university with a focus solely on social sciences, arts and humanities but also the only Indian non-STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and non-medicine university to find a place in the QS World University Rankings 2023.

Among new entrants, University of Madras debuted in the 541-550 band, while Chandigarh University debuted in the 801-1,000 bracket as the youngest varsity, having been established less than 10 years ago.

IIT Guwahati (37th for CpF), IIT Roorkee (47th for CpF) and the University of Madras (48th for CpF) are also among the global top 50 research institutions.

In terms of other indicators, the University of Calcutta (801-1,000) recorded the highest percentage of female students (63 per cent), followed by the University of Mumbai (1,001-1,200) with 57 per cent. Amity University (1,001-1,200), on the other hand, employed the highest percentage of female faculty (58 per cent), followed by the University of Mumbai (56 per cent).

However, India continues to struggle in indicators such as institutional teaching capacity and QS’ internationalisation metrics. Thirty of India’s 41 ranked universities have suffered decline in its Faculty/Student Ratio (FSR) indicator, with only four recording improvements. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (1,001-1,200) is the best-performing local institution for the proportion of international faculty, ranking 411th globally, while Amity University (1,001-1,200) is the national leader for the proportion of international students as it ranked 542nd globally.

According to QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter, while the latest edition of the rankings reflects the excellent work that several Indian varsities are doing to improve their research footprint, the dataset also suggests that the Indian higher education sector still struggles to provide adequate teaching capacity.