KU Ranks No. 1 in the 2018 QS Asia University Rankings among Private Comprehensive Universities in Korea

Ranks 12th Place among Asian Universities, Climbs Four Places, and Sits Atop the Rankings among Private Comprehensive Universities in Korea for the Third Consecutive Year

Takes Top Spot in the Newly Introduced International Research Network Indicator among Korean Universities

According to the 2018 QS Asia University Rankings recently released by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), Korea University (KU) is ranked 12th among Asian universities and No. 1 among private comprehensive universities in Korea.

Compared to last year, KU moved up four spots to be the No. 1 private comprehensive university in Korea. The results once again confirmed KU’s traditionally strong position as the nation’s most representative private university. In contrast with other major Korean universities, whose rankings have continuously dropped over the past five years, KU has been steadily rising and continues to maintain its strong position in international assessments.

A total of 503 universities in 17 countries were assessed this year, including Korea, China, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Among the 57 Korean universities assessed, 12 made it into the top 50. The National University of Singapore was ranked No. 1, Seoul National University came in 10th place, the University of Tokyo came in 11th, followed by Korea University which stood at 12th place enabling it to stand side by side with other prestigious universities in Asia.

This year’s assessment was based on a questionnaire collected from 83,877 scholars around the world. By adding the newly introduced International Research Network (IRN) indicator, a total of 11 distinctive indicators were used for the 2018 QS Asia University Rankings.

KU is ranked No. 1 in the newly introduced IRN indicator among the Korean universities this year. KU climbed three spots (from 15th to 12th) in Employer Reputation and climbed three spots (from 37th to 34th) in International Student Ratio, showing a steady rise in rankings. KU continued to firmly maintain its position (18th) in Research Reputation in Asia while achieving outstanding results.

[2018 QS Asia University Assessment (Top 20)]

[2018 QS Asia University Assessment (Major Korean Universities)]

▲ Rankings of major Korean universities over the past five years. KU shows steady rise in rankings.

Academic Reputation, which accounts for 30% of the overall assessment, was conducted by 83,877 scholars. With regard to Employer Reputation, which accounts for 20%, was based on responses from 42,862 corporate human resource managers from all over the world.

The newly introduced IRN indicator assesses the degree of international openness in terms of research collaborations with other universities in different locations around the world. The assessment was based on research achievements between 2012 and 2016. The QS announced that it has adapted this new indicator due to the importance for inter-university collaboration and research to solve problems that humanity faces.

Byung-Soo Kim, Vice President for Research Affairs, said, “In order for Korean universities to have global competitiveness, it is necessary to know the global research trends through joint research with overseas universities and increase the awareness of the importance of international research networks. KU has recently been working on organizing joint research projects with prestigious overseas university researchers while investing more than KRW 1 billion and giving full support to providing resources for overseas collaborative research.”

Since last year, KU has been running the Research Information Analysis Center, which connects renowned overseas research institutes and researchers with Korea University professors while building its reputation as a research oriented university.