Two-thirds of Israeli universities drop in global academic rankings

Less well-funded than many universities around the world, two-thirds of Israeli institutions of higher learning have fallen in global rankings – a cause of concern amid intensified international competition. 

Nine Israeli universities, led by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU), are featured in the 2023 edition of the Global 2000 list by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), which has just been released at https://cwur.org/2023.php.

For the 12th year in a row, Harvard University is number one, while 96% of Chinese universities have risen, thanks to that country’s continued investment in higher education.

This bad news comes at an embarrassing moment when the Israeli government has decided to allocate over NIS 13 billion to the parties that form it.

CWUR – publisher of the largest academic ranking of global universities – analyzed 62 million outcome-based data points to rank universities from around the world according to four factors – quality of education (25%), employability (25%), quality of faculty (10%), and research performance (40%). This year, 20,531 universities were ranked, and those that placed at the top made the Global 2000 list – which includes institutions from 95 countries.

CWUR is a leading consulting organization providing policy advice, strategic insights and consulting services to governments and universities to improve educational and research outcomes. Its rankings, with a reputation for objectivity, transparency and consistency, are trusted by students, academics, university administrators and governments from around the world.

How much did Israeli institutions drop down the rankings?

HU dropped three spots to 70th due to declines in quality of faculty and research performance, but it improved in the quality of education and employability indicators. The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot fell 13 places to 289th, while Tel Aviv University (TAU) climbed one spot to 154th – ahead of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa at number 176 and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in the 363rd position. The rest of the Israeli universities in the Global 2000 are Bar-Ilan University (559), University of Haifa (660), Ariel University in Samaria (1,552) and Reichman University in Herzliya (1,931).

He added that “efforts must be made to ensure that Israel attracts top academics and students, that increasing enrollment numbers at universities come alongside increases in teaching capacity, and that tertiary education expenditure as a percentage of the national GDP steadily grows in the years to come.”

Commenting on the national picture, Dr. Nadim Mahassen, the Ontario-based CWUR president, said: “While Israel is well represented in this year’s rankings, the country’s top institutions are under increasing pressure from well-funded universities from around the world. Funding to further promote the development and reputation of Israel’s higher education system is vital if the country aspires to be more competitive on the global stage.”

Harvard is followed by two other private US institutions – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University in California, while the UK’s Cambridge and Oxford – ranking fourth and fifth respectively – are the world’s top public higher educational institutions. The rest of the global top 10 are these private US universities – Princeton, Chicago, Columbia, Pennsylvania and Yale.

US struggles to maintain dominance

Despite holding eight of the top 10 places globally, the US is struggling to keep its dominance against rivals worldwide, with nearly 80 % of American universities slipping down. In the Global 2000, only 49 US institutions improve from last year, with 21 maintaining their spots, and 262 falling down the standings. All Ivy League institutions feature in the global top 70 this year. The top US public university is the University of California at Berkeley, ranking 12th worldwide, one spot behind the California Institute of Technology. Overall, the US is the most represented country in the Global 2000 with 332 representatives – three fewer than last year. Canada has 40 institutions in the table, led by the University of Toronto at number 23.

Europe remains an important power player in the standings with 640 institutions in the top 2000, but the overall picture for 2023 is grim amid growing global competition, the CWUR said. In the United Kingdom, Cambridge and Oxford’s success masks the decline of nearly 60% of UK institutions in the rankings. In the Global 2000, only 32 universities improved from last year, with six maintaining their spots, and 55 falling down the standings. Of Russell Group’s 24 members of research-intensive universities, six universities ranked better compared to last year, four held their places and 14 ranked lower. Overall, the UK has 93 representatives – one fewer than last year – in the Global 2000.

France had five universities in the top 50 – two fewer than the UK. The top French institution for the fourth year in a row is PSL (Paris Sciences et Lettres) University, ranking 21st worldwide. Only 18 French institutions fared better than last year, with one maintaining its spot and 57 falling down the rankings. In total, France has 76 institutions – one fewer than last year – among the world’s best 2,000 universities. 

Russia had 43 representatives in the Global top 2000 – one more than last year – with 14 institutions moving up, two maintaining their spots, and 27 falling down the standings. The top Russian university this year is Moscow State University, ranking 217th worldwide.

The top ten universities in Europe this year are: Cambridge (UK, 4th), Oxford (UK, 5th), UCL (UK, 19th), PSL (France, 21st), Imperial College (UK, 29th), ETH Zurich (Switzerland, 30th), Paris Saclay (France, 32nd), Copenhagen (Denmark, 35th), Karolinska Institute (Sweden, 38th) and Paris City University (France, 39th).

Asia presented a mixed picture. China’s rapid rise in the standings is due to the country’s continued investment in higher education, especially under the Double First-Class University Plan. Ninety-six percent of Chinese universities rank better than last year, led by Tsinghua University at number 44. All nine institutions of the C9 League, the Chinese version of the US Ivy League, saw improvements this year. In total, China has 314 representatives among the world’s top 2000 universities, up from 302 a year ago.

While the University of Tokyo is still Asia’s highest-ranked institution, ranking 13th worldwide, 86% of Japan’s 114 representatives in the Global 2000 lost ground this year as a result of the government's low expenditure on tertiary education in prior years. Meanwhile, Indian universities and institutes have had mixed results this year, with 33 institutions moving up and 31 falling down.

In Oceania, the top ten universities are Melbourne (57th), Sydney (92nd), New South Wales (104th), Queensland (105th), Monash (121st), Australian National University (128th), Western Australia (150th), Adelaide (207th), Auckland (268th), and Curtin (333rd).

The leading ten universities in Latin America and the Caribbean this year are São Paulo (109th), National Autonomous University of Mexico (276th), Campinas (344th), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (376th), Buenos Aires (382nd), Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (390th), São Paulo State (424th), University of Chile (438th), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (467th), and Federal University of Minas Gerais (503rd).

In Africa, the best 10 universities are Cape Town (267th), Witwatersrand (290th), Stellenbosch (450th), KwaZulu-Natal (478th), Cairo (520th), Pretoria (557th), Johannesburg (628th), Ain Shams (772nd), Addis Ababa (862nd), and North-West (887th).