Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is a research institution located in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Established in 1991, the institute is one of the youngest universities to make it to the top universities in Hong Kong after receiving awards and honors from a range of ranking agencies. Ranked 3rd in Young University Rankings 2021 by Times Higher Education, it is well-known for its cutting edge technology, research and education as well as international faculty. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has also been ranked in the top 10 universities in Hong Kong consecutively for several years now.

The faculty of the university is regarded as one of the best faculties internationally and has received multiple awards over the years such as University Grants Committee (UGC) Teaching Award,  IEEE Robotics and Automation Technical Field Award and Croucher Innovation Awards to name a few. This and a lot more adds credibility to the institute’s name and makes it a coveted choice globally.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Ranking Highlights

  • Ranked 34th in Global University Rankings by QS World University Rankings
  • Ranked 8th in Asian University Rankings by QS World University Rankings
  • Ranked 301 – 400th in Institutional Rankings by Shanghai Rankings 2021
  • Ranked 340th in World Rank by Central World University Rankings
  • Ranked 109th in Best Global Universities by US News 2021
  • Ranked 2nd in QS Top 50 under 50 for 2021

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology World Rankings

The institute is a renowned name when aiming to study in Hong Kong and has been ranked by several agencies on different occasions. There are various reputable rankings that take into consideration a range of factors, some such rankings are as discussed below.

Overall Ranking over the years:

Agency 2019 2020 2021
QS World Ranking 37 32 27
Times Higher Education 41 47 56
ARWU 201 – 300 301 – 400 N/A
CWUR 340 291 340

HKUST has been on a decline since the past few years. This can be noticed in the Times Higher Education and the Center for World University Rankings. However, in spite of these declines, it still maintained to climb the rankings in the QS World Ranking.

The QS Director of Research, Ben Sowter mentioned to the Post, that the protests did not affect the rankings as the data was collected before the protests began.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology World Ranking by QS

QS World University Rankings considered more than 5,500 universities around the globe to rank and update us about the top 1,000. The University is ranked 34th for the year of 2022 and thus makes admissions at HKUST a favored event of the year. Following are the ranking criteria of the university:

Academic Reputation 85.2
Employer Reputation 63.6
Faculty Student 66.7
Citations per Faculty 92.1
International Faculty 100
International Students 88.9
Overall Score 82.1

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology World Ranking by THE

Times Higher Education takes into consideration about 1,400 universities around the globe and ranks the top universities. It ranks on the basis of various indicators such as knowledge, international outlook, teaching, and research. The Times Higher Education has ranked HKUST at 56th position, based on the following rankings indicator:

Teaching 52.1
Research 63
Citations 88.9
Industry Income 63.6
International Outlook 97.4
Overall 70.1

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology World Ranking by US News

According to US News, HKUST has been ranked at 109th in Best Global Universities based on the following indicator rankings 2021:

Global Score 69.1
Global research reputation 69
Regional research reputation 10
Publications 368
Books 533
Conferences 188
Normalized citation impact 180
Total Citations 289
Number of publications that are among the 10% most cited 236
Percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited 35
International collaboration – relative to country 438
International collaboration 832
Number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited 238
Percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited 149

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology World Ranking by CWUR

Center for World University Ranking is a UAE initiative for global university rankings on the basis of education, faculty, research, surveys, data, etc. It has been ranked 340th in the World according to CWUR. Following are the indicator rankings:

Alumni Employment Rank 496
Research Output Rank 354
Quality of Publications Rank 265
Influence Rank 465
Citations Rank 254
Overall Score 75.8

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology National Rankings

HKUST is one of the renowned universities in Hong Kong and was ranked 8th in Asian University Rankings by QS World University Rankings. In the year 2018, it ranked 3rd, but slipped a few rankings the next few years. However, it still ranks among the top 10 Universities in Asia. The Times Higher Education ranked the University 5th in Asian University Rankings 2021. It has been ranked at 10th in Best Global Universities in Asia and 3rd in Best Global Universities in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Subject-wise Rankings by QS

HKUST offers a diverse range of courses that are ranked by different agencies across a range of factors. Generally, QS Rankings are ranked on the basis of surveys conducted globally of alumni, employers, research citations, reputation, H-index, etc. Some such ranking are discussed in this section as follows:

Engineering and Technology 18
Natural Sciences 40
Social Sciences and Management 33
Computer Science and Information Systems 26
Engineering – Civil and Structural 17
Engineering – Electrical and Electronic 22
Engineering – Mechanical 27
Chemistry 29
Environmental Studies 50
Material Sciences 23
Mathematics 34
Physics & Astronomy 47
Accounting and Finance 20
Business and Management Studies 16
Economics and Econometrics 29
Statistics and Operational Research 35

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Subject Ranking by THE

Times Higher Education evaluates rankings on the basis of research, teaching as well as the impact it has. It has given the following rankings subject-wise for the University for the year 2021:

Engineering and Technology 26
Life Science 91
Physical Sciences 64
Social Sciences 74
Business & Economics 29
Computer Science 31

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Subject Ranking by US News

The US News rank on the basis of years of research, user feedback, discussion with education experts, deans, researchers, etc., reviews, trends, and much more. The US News has given the following subject-wise rankings:

Biology and Biochemistry 307
Chemical Engineering 68
Chemistry 33
Civil Engineering 36
Computer Science 22
Economics and Business 48
Electrical and Electronic Engineering 48
Energy and Fuels 54
Engineering 31
Environment/Ecology 252
Materials Science 19
Mathematics 137
Nano sciences and Nanotechnology 34
Physics 125

HKUST has been one of the fastest growing young universities in Hong Kong. However, in the recent past, the rankings have been on the decline. According to the study conducted by researches which published on THE, there was a connection between the decline and the anti-government protests, however, the main reasons resulting in the decline were the teaching and research reputation.

But overall, the university has been consistent across its rankings and has been climbing the ladder of favorites among international students which makes it a sought-after choice when seeking to study abroad.