Mazel Tov! Hebrew University places first in Israel in another school ranking

HU was only Israeli university to place in the world’s top 200 universities in the rankings.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Updated: OCTOBER 2, 2015 02:57
The national library of Israel on the Givat Ram campus, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. (photo credit: Courtesy)
The national library of Israel on the Givat Ram campus, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has been listed by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings as the leading Israeli university – at No. 178 out of 800 of the best universities in the world.
HU thus improved its ranking, as in 2014, it was listed in the top 201-250 group.
HU was thus the only university in this country to place in the world’s top 200 universities in the rankings, which are compiled and published by the British magazine Times Higher Education.
Among Israel’s other institutes of higher education, Tel Aviv University was listed in the 201 to 250 group; the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology in the 301-350 group, Bar-Ilan University between 401 and 500; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev between 501 and 600; and the University of Haifa between 501 and 600.
The Weizmann Institute of Science and Ariel University were not ranked by the listings.
The World University Rankings are generated from five pillars, each of which represents a key area of higher education excellence: Teaching, Research, Citations, Industry Income, and International Outlook. HU improved its score in all five of these categories over last year, with the most significant improvements in Citations, Research and Teaching, followed by International Outlook and Industry Income.
Thus the Hebrew University is now the No. 1 Israeli university according to all three of the major annual rankings of international universities.
According to the Shanghai Ranking released on August 16, HU was No. 67 globally, No. 1 in Israel and No. 3 in Asia among more than 1,200 universities surveyed. HU was also ranked No. 33 in the world in Mathematics.
The Shanghai Rankings is widely considered the most objective and important ranking of the world’s universities.
Since its origins in 2003, this ranking institution has included HU among the world’s 100 leading universities every year, consolidating the Israeli institution’s status as a world leader in academia and research.
According to the QS World University Rankings publicized on September 15, HU is No. 148 globally, No. 1 in Israel and No. 1 in the Middle East.
That list is published by British higher education data provider Quacquarelli Symonds. In those rankings, HU’s Faculty of Humanities was named Israel’s top-ranked faculty globally, placing 128th best among the world’s arts and humanities faculties.
On July 17, 2015, the Center for World University Rankings – a think tank based in Saudi Arabia – ranked HU as the No. 1 university in Israel and the Middle East, No. 3 in Asia, and No. 23 in the world.
HU president Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson commented: “The Hebrew University is honored to be recognized as the leading university in Israel by the Times Higher Education and other major international rankings systems.
We have attained our status as a leader in the Middle East, Asia and worldwide by virtue of our faculty members’ prolific, high-quality research and teaching output. I also commend the hard work of our dedicated staff and our exceptional student population from Israel and around the world. There is no doubt that Israel owes its continued success as a research powerhouse and Start-up Nation to the contributions of the Hebrew University community and our colleagues at Israel’s other institutes of higher education.”
Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, said: “The Times Higher Education World University Rankings, now in their 12th year, apply rigorous standards, using tough global benchmarks across all of a global research university’s key missions – teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. The results are trusted by students and their families, academics, university leaders and governments. For the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to make No. 178 in the world is an outstanding achievement to be celebrated.”