World University Rankings see rise of Asian schools

Three Asian universities have made the top 15 for the first time in the latest ranking of universities around the world.

The British journal Times Higher Education released the World University Rankings 2027 on Wednesday. The list is based on criteria such as educational environment, quality of research and international outlook.

Britain's University of Oxford took the top spot for the 11th straight year, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while Princeton University and Stanford University tied for third place. All are in the US.

British and American universities dominated the top ten.

From Japan, the University of Tokyo was ranked 27th and Kyoto University 62nd. Both were down a notch from last year.

The highest-ranked Asian institution was China's Tsinghua University, which took 11th place.

Peking University came in 13th and National University of Singapore 15th.

Times Higher Education attributes the rise of Asian universities mainly to gains in research scores.

It also quotes an expert as saying that in the US, "political interference" is disrupting scientific excellence and the academic system, while Britain and other countries have "severe budgetary problems."