Universities – The University of Auckland named Asia Pacific Leader in Sustainability

Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds

London, 5th June 2024: International higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds has today released the 21st annual edition of the QS World University Rankings*. * The link will be live once the embargo lifts.  The 2025 QS World University Ranking highlight significant achievements in the Asia Pacific region, with The University of Auckland leading in the Sustainability indicator and breaking into the world’s top 5 by climbing four places. 

The University of Sydney and The University of Melbourne follow as the next two best in the region, ranking 7th and 9th respectively in the same indicator. New Zealand also sees growth in its research outputs and international research collaborations across a few of its institutions, including the University of Waikato which breaks into the world’s top 100 for Citations per Faculty, having climbed 34 places. This unique ranking system is the only one of its kind that incorporates both employability and sustainability factors. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) maintains its reign at the top for the thirteenth consecutive year. Imperial College London leaps four places to secure the second spot, breaking a decade of Oxbridge dominance in the UK. The University of Oxford and Harvard University hold steady in 3rd and 4th, respectively, while the University of Cambridge rounds out the top five.

QS World University Rankings 2025: Top 20
2025 Rank	2024 Rank	Institution	Location
1	1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	United States
2	6	Imperial College London	United Kingdom
3	3	University of Oxford	United Kingdom
4	4	Harvard University	United States
5	2	University of Cambridge	United Kingdom
6	5	Stanford University	United States
7	7	ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology	Switzerland
8	8	National University of Singapore (NUS)	Singapore
9	9	UCL	United Kingdom
10	15	California Institute of Technology (Caltech)	United States
11	12	University of Pennsylvania	United States
12	10	University of California, Berkeley (UCB)	United States
13	14	The University of Melbourne	Australia
14	=17	Peking University	China (Mainland)
15	=26	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU)	Singapore
16	13	Cornell University	United States
17	=26	The University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong SAR
18	=19	The University of Sydney	Australia
19	=19	The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)	Australia
20	25	Tsinghua University	China (Mainland)

This year’s ranking is the largest, with 1500 universities across 106 higher education systems. The United States (US) is the most represented country or territory, with 197 ranked institutions, followed by the United Kingdom with 90 and China with 71.

Executive Summary: New Zealand

World leading in sustainability: New Zealand’s top ranked institution, The University of Auckland, climbs into the world top 5 for its sustainability and social justice impact. With an almost perfect score of 99.7 and ranking 5th globally, the university also takes the lead for the Asia Pacific region. With an increasing number of students looking to choose a university that takes responsibility for issues of sustainability, this is a great strength for New Zealand as a study destination.

Growth in research impact: Six out of New Zealand’s eight ranked institutions have climbed the rankings for the Citations per Faculty Ratio indicator, measuring the relative intensity and volume of research being done at an institute – a widely accepted measure of research strength. Four of New Zealand’s institutions also rank within the world top 500 for International Research Network, with the University of Auckland rising 14 places to 206th.

International faculty provide global perspectives: Six of New Zealand’s eight universities rank in the world top 100 for International Faculty Ratio, giving New Zealand its strongest average score across all nine indicators. Attracting a sizeable population of international faculty to the country brings New Zealand many benefits to research, teaching diversity and collaboration.

Employability in decline: Where New Zealand’s universities make strides in other areas, their efforts to produce skilled and desirable graduates are in decline. All the New Zealand Universities decline in their Employer Reputation ranking and all nine decline in Employment Outcomes. While The University of Auckland places 64th in the world for Employment Outcomes, it is important for New Zealand’s institutions to strengthen their employability strategies to better prepare students for the workplace and build stronger partnerships with industry.

New Zealand is home to eight ranked institutions. Among these, two universities climb the table and five decline, while one remains unchanged. The University of Auckland is the top ranked institution, climbing three places this year to rank 65th globally. 

QS World University Rankings 2025: New Zealand Ranked Universities
2025 Rank	2024 Rank	Institution
65	68	The University of Auckland
214	206	University of Otago
235	250	University of Waikato
=239	=239	Massey University
244	241	Victoria University of Wellington
=261	=256	University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
=371	=362	Lincoln University
412	=407	Auckland University of Technology (AUT)

Ben Sowter, QS Senior Vice President, said: “As an increasingly socially conscious student population looks to universities that align with their values, our rankings provide universities with a distinctive perspective to evaluate and improve their performance in areas of critical significance for shaping a brighter future for generations to come. New Zealand’s climb into the world’s top five for sustainability is a testament to the University of Auckland’s dedication to environmental and social sustainability. Nevertheless, the country’s institutions must foster stronger graduate employability and intensify international collaboration to address the world’s pressing challenges.”

New Zealand: In focus

The University of Auckland takes the top spot in 5 out of the 9 QS metrics, while the remaining four are shared between four other local institutions.

 

New Zealand’s highest-ranked position in any metric is from The University of Auckland, which ranks in the world’s top 5 for Sustainability. In 2023, the university signed a $50 million sustainability loan, breaking new ground for New Zealand’s university sector. As well as world-class environmental and socially sustainable research, and environmentally friendly facilities, students can find a course related to specific UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in partnership with the QS Future17 program, students can have real-world impact. 

QS’ measure of the intensity and volume of research at an institution, Citations per Faculty, sees 75% of New Zealand’s institutions improve their score in research strength. The country’s highest scorer in this metric, the University of Waikato, sees a 17% increase in citations year-on-year and ranks in the world top 100 (94th). 

Though, when it comes to international research partnerships and collaboration, 75% of New Zealand’s institutions are in decline. The University of Auckland (206th) and the University of Otago (332nd) are the only universities to climb the rankings in the International Research Network metric. Building stronger partnerships with international institutions and organisations would improve New Zealand’s research scores to compete with Australia’s stronger averages in these metrics.

Employability is a key area of improvement for New Zealand universities dropping in rank for the Employer Reputation metric, and Employment Outcomes. While The University of Auckland places 64th in the world for the latter, it is important for New Zealand’s institutions to strengthen their employability strategies to better prepare students for the workplace and build stronger partnerships with industry. 

The University of Waikato is New Zealand’s highest climber in this year’s rankings, moving up 15 places to rank 235th. The university improves its score in the Academic Reputation metric, climbing 11 places to 473rd. The university also climbs 34 places in Citations per Faculty to 94th place, and Sustainability by 53 places to rank 99th – breaking into the world top 100 in both these metrics. 

Three New Zealand universities place in the world top 100 for International Student Ratio, enabling students to benefit from diverse perspectives and backgrounds in their learning environment. Auckland University of Technology (AUT) is the country’s top performer in this metric (42nd), followed by Lincoln University (88th) and Massey University (96th).

Continuing on the theme of internationalisation, New Zealand’s institutions thrive in the International Faculty metric, illustrating diverse cohorts of teaching staff who can bring global perspectives to both research and the classroom. Six of New Zealand’s universities rank in the world top 100 in this metric with the two remaining universities ranking just outside of the bracket in 107th (University of Waikato) and 112th (Massey University). New Zealand achieves its highest average score in this metric, with an impressive 99.7 points.

Global Highlights:

Asia Ascending, US Underwhelming: Two-thirds of American varsities drop in latest global rankings

MIT remains relentless as world’s #1 university, recording thirteenth consecutive year at the top – but Asia’s finest increasingly challenging US pre-eminence.

Canadian higher education excels for Sustainability, with two universities in the world’s top five, including the University of Toronto. 

 
Australia leads in international research in the Asia-Pacific region, claiming nine of the top 10 positions and boasts three institutions among the top 20.  

Among China’s five top-100 universities, four ascended in the rankings. Peking University holds the highest position at 14th, rising three spots.  

India has shown remarkable progress, with 91% of its 46 ranked universities either climbing, remaining stable, or being new entries.   

Indonesia, Pakistan, and Türkiye are among the most improved countries.  

Latin America has four top-100 universities: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and Universidade de São Paulo.  

KFUPM (101st) in Saudi Arabia is the highest-ranked Arab institution, narrowly missing the top 100. Meanwhile, the University of Cape Town (171st) is Africa’s leader.  

Methodology: Detailed methodological information can be found at QS World University Rankings 2025 methodology (topuniversities.com)      

The full rankings will be available on Wednesday 05th June, 08:00 NZST and can be found at https://www.topuniversities.com/qs-world-university-rankings/2025                    

Notes

QS Quacquarelli Symonds        

QS Quacquarelli Symonds is the world’s leading provider of services, analytics, and insight to the global higher education sector. Its mission is to empower motivated people anywhere in the world to fulfil their potential through educational achievement, international mobility, and career development.

The QS World University Rankings portfolio, inaugurated in 2004, is the world’s most popular source of comparative data about university performance.

Their flagship website, www.TopUniversities.com – the home of their rankings – was viewed more than 170 million times in 2023, and over 124,000 media clippings pertaining to, or mentioning, QS were published by media outlets across the world in 2023.