Israel's academic institutions have maintained their standing in the prestigious Shanghai Ranking, recognized as one of the most important university rankings worldwide. Three Israeli universities—Weizmann Institute of Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Technion—were ranked among the top 100 globally.
The Weizmann Institute of Science led the Israeli institutions, securing the 69th spot, slightly down from 68th last year. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem climbed from 86th to 81st place, while the Technion dropped from 79th to 85th, resulting in a swap between the two institutions. Additionally, the Technion was ranked 11th among the world’s top technological universities.
The Shanghai Ranking, published annually since 2003, assesses the research performance of academic institutions based on various criteria, including the number of Nobel and Fields Medal laureates among faculty and alumni, the number of scientific papers published in leading journals such as Nature and Science, and other research achievements. The ranking evaluates over 2,500 universities worldwide and highlights the top 1,000.
One of the reasons for the strong performance of Israeli universities is the relatively high number of Nobel and Fields Medal laureates from Israel. In recent years, Israeli universities have also made significant efforts to align with the ranking’s criteria, such as increasing publications in prestigious journals. Despite ongoing political challenges and government interference, particularly from Education Minister Yoav Kisch, the rankings reflect long-term trends and achievements.
Rankings for other Israeli universities, positioned beyond the top 100, are expected to be released later today. It is anticipated that three institutions, likely Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University, and Bar-Ilan University, will rank between 101 and 500, while another institution, likely the University of Haifa, will be placed beyond the 501st spot.
Harvard topped the global rankings, followed by Stanford, MIT, Cambridge and Berkeley. Of the top 100 institutions, 38 are from the United States, 14 from China, 8 from the United Kingdom, 5 from Australia, 4 from France, 4 from Germany, 3 from Canada, and 3 from Israel.
"The presence of three Israeli universities in the top 100 during such a challenging year is an extraordinary achievement," said Hebrew University President Prof. Asher Cohen.
Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan added, "Our consistent ranking in the Shanghai index reaffirms the Technion’s position among the world’s leading technological universities."