Hebrew University Once Again Ranked in Top 100 Universities in the World

November 2, 2009 - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has been ranked 64th among the world’s 100 top universities in the new Academic Ranking of World Universities issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. The ranking is one position higher than last year.

The Hebrew University was the only Israeli institution included in the top 100. Topping the list were the American universities Harvard, Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University each year evaluates more than 2,000 universities in the world and ranks the top 500 among them. The rankings are based on a combined scale of academic criteria that include awards won by alumni and staff, articles published in leading scientific journals, and the number of highly cited researchers. The Chinese university’s rankings have achieved respected international recognition and are considered more objective than other rankings.

In the category of the top universities in the Asia Pacific region, the Hebrew University was ranked fourth, just after the Australian National University and Kyoto and Tokyo universities in Japan.

In rankings according to academic disciplines, the Hebrew University was ranked 25th in computer science and (in group rankings) among the 75 best in the categories of mathematics, economics and business administration, and among the top 100 in chemistry.

Other Israeli universities fell into ranking categories below the top 100. In the lower categories the ranking was not number-specific, but rather according to groups. Thus, Tel Aviv University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology were ranked in the second tier group of the 150 best universities, the Weizmann Institute of Science in the top 200, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Bar-Ilan University in the category of the top 400.

Hebrew University President Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson said, “I am pleased that the Hebrew University continues to stand out among the 100 best universities in the world, both in general and in specific disciplines. Our aspiration now is to rise in standing in order to reach the rankings of the top 50 universities in the world. We must continue to be Israel’s best university in every area.”

For further information:
Jerry Barach, Dept. of Media Relations, the Hebrew University, Tel: 02-588-2904, or  Orit Sulitzeanu, Hebrew University spokesperson, Tel: 02-5882910 or 054-882-0016.
Internet site: http://media.huji.ac.il/