Ajou University has entered the 800^th-to-601^st range in the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, jumping 200 ranks since last year, making it the eighth-highest ranked university in Korea.

UK-based Times Higher Education, along with Quacquarelli Symonds (QX), ranks over 1,500 institutions of higher education worldwide every year, and released the 2021 rankings on September 3 this year.

The rankings include the 1,500 top-ranked universities in 93 countries around the globe. Ranked for the first time in the 800^th-to-601^st range, Ajou found itself more than 200 ranks above where it was last year. Its rankings rose across all categories of evaluation, but the biggest jump was observed in research. This is thanks to the University’s steadfast efforts to enhance its capabilities in this area, by (1) introducing awards for quality research papers, (2) providing significant research grants for new faculty members (up to KRW 100 million in sciences and engineering, and KRW 50 million in the humanities and social sciences), (3) making the quality of research part of the qualifications for faculty member promotion and reward, and (4) adding new qualitative criteria to the standard used to appoint and promote faculty members.

University President Park Hyung-ju commented: “A university’s strength lies in its research capabilities. At Ajou, we are committed to attracting talented individuals to our faculty, introducing sustainable programs, and providing a comprehensive range of support for researchers.”

THE World University Rankings 2021 ranked 1,527 universities in 93 countries worldwide, rating them according to 13 indicators across five areas: learning conditions, research, citations, industrial-academic collaboration, and globalization. The University of Oxford topped the list, followed by Stanford University, Harvard University, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The highest-ranked Korean universities include Seoul National University (60^th), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST, 96^th), Sungkyunkwan University (101^st), POSTECH (151^st), Korea University (167^th), the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (176^th), and Yonsei University (187^th).

Ajou also managed to rise further in this year’s QS World University Rankings, released in June, marking its rise for two years in a row, and landing it in the 560^th-to-551^st range. Having jumped more than 100 places in the past two years, Ajou has become the Korean university making the quickest ascent.