Indian Institute of Science among top 500 universities in world ranking

BEIJING: Indian Institute of Science ( IISc) is the lone Indian institution to bag a spot in the top 500 in an annual ranking of global educational institutions dominated by American universities, according to a list released by a Chinese organisation on Friday.

Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science, conceived as a ‘Research Institute’ by Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, in the final years of the 19th century, has been placed in the world rank category of 301-400 by the Academic Ranking of World Universities ( ARWU).

IISc, ranked as the top Indian university, was placed in the category of 151-200 in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics category, similar to the previous year’s rankings.

In the academic ranking of world universities for chemistry, the premier institute has been placed in the category of 51-75 global ranking, similar to the US-based Johns Hopkins university and Carnegie Mellon university.

In the subject-wise academic ranking of computer science, Indian Statistical Institute features along with IISc in 101-150 category, similar to King’s College, London.

In the ARWU rankings, Harvard University followed by Stanford and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are ranked at first, second and third positions, respectively. ARWU ranks universities on the basis of several indicators of academic and research performance, including alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals.

Highly-cited researchers, papers published in Nature and Science, papers indexed in major citation indices and the per capita academic performance of an institution are also factors which play a vital role.