Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University has secured the top position worldwide for artificial intelligence degree programs in the 2025 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects released by ShanghaiRanking, highlighting Asia’s growing influence in advanced technology education and research.
According to the latest results published last month, NTU achieved a leading score of 289 points, placing it ahead of China’s Tsinghua University, which followed closely with 284.7 points. The ranking reflects a competitive global landscape for artificial intelligence education, with institutions from Asia, North America, and Australia dominating the upper tier. Among the top ten universities worldwide, three are based in Asia, while the remaining institutions come from the United States, Canada, and Australia. This distribution underscores the increasingly international nature of artificial intelligence research and education, as universities across regions invest heavily in faculty expertise, research output, and global collaboration to strengthen their academic standing.
China emerged as the most represented country in the top 20, with ten institutions included in the list. Two Chinese universities placed within the global top ten, while the remaining eight secured positions between 11 and 20. Alongside Tsinghua University in second place, Zhejiang University ranked fourth with a score of 248.8, followed by Harbin Institute of Technology at 11th and Peking University at 13th. Other Chinese institutions featured include Northwestern Polytechnical University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Beihang University. This strong showing reflects China’s sustained focus on artificial intelligence as a strategic academic and economic priority, supported by extensive research funding and large scale talent development initiatives.
North American universities also maintained a strong presence in the rankings. Canada placed three institutions within the top ten, led by the University of Toronto in third position with a score of 265.9. The University of Alberta ranked fifth, while the University of Montreal secured ninth place, highlighting Canada’s consistent investment in artificial intelligence research and education. The United States recorded four institutions in the top 20, including Carnegie Mellon University at sixth, University of California Los Angeles at seventh, Stanford University at tenth, and Harvard University at twelfth. Australia and the U.K. each contributed one institution to the top 20, with University of Technology Sydney ranking eighth and University of Oxford placing seventeenth, reflecting their focused strengths in artificial intelligence research despite having fewer representatives overall.
The 2025 ShanghaiRanking assessment evaluated approximately 2,000 universities across 100 countries and regions, ultimately ranking 400 institutions specifically for their artificial intelligence programs. To qualify, universities were required to publish at least 100 scientific papers in the field between 2020 and 2024, ensuring that the rankings reflect sustained research activity rather than isolated achievements. The methodology is based on five core criteria covering faculty quality, volume of high impact research, research quality, research influence, and international collaboration. Established in 2003 by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ShanghaiRanking, formally known as the Academic Ranking of World Universities, is widely regarded as one of the three most influential global university rankings, alongside Quacquarelli Symonds and Times Higher Education, and continues to shape perceptions of academic excellence worldwide.
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