Following on the heels of the other QS World University Rankings by Region which were published in October, the QS BRICS University Rankings 2018 is nearly here. Featuring the top universities in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, this ranking provides greater insight into the state of higher education in some of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
Now featuring 300 universities, this year’s ranking is the biggest and most comprehensive yet. Developed in collaboration with Russian news agency Interfax in 2013, the BRICS ranking measures universities across eight different metrics, including academic and employer reputation, the proportion of international students and the number of academic staff qualified to PhD level.
What to expect from this year’s ranking
The previous edition of the BRICS ranking saw Chinese universities dominate. All of the top five universities were Chinese, with six more institutions from the Asian behemoth ranking inside the top 20. Will we see a similarly strong showing this year? Three of those five all climbed in the latest QS World University Rankings®, which suggests they’re likely to impress again this year, but Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Tsinghua University may be looking over their shoulders after a slight decline globally. The world rankings are compiled using different metrics to the BRICS ranking though, so it’s hard to say how much of an impact this will have.
Apart from China, the next-highest country to be represented in last year’s ranking was India, but Russian universities have been making great strides so the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore’s reputation as the best BRICS university outside of China might be under threat.
With 300 universities being ranked this year, there’s also the opportunity for new institutions to break into the rankings. While it’s unlikely any new university will get close to the top 20, it will be interesting to see how many new faces make the top 150.
Check back on November 23 for the complete QS BRICS University Rankings 2018.