2025年台湾大学在THE排名中的表现与区域竞争分析

In the 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, Taiwan’s higher education sector has demonstrated a nuanced position, with 45 institutions listed among the global top 1,500—a slight increase from 43 in 2024 [THE, 2025, World University Rankings]. However, the island’s flagship institution, National Taiwan University (NTU), slipped to the 152nd position globally, a decline of 10 places from the previous year, while regional competitors like South Korea’s Seoul National University (62nd) and Singapore’s National University of Singapore (19th) continued to widen the gap. The data from the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan indicates that research output in the natural sciences has grown by 7.2% since 2020, yet citation impact per faculty—a key metric in the THE methodology—has stagnated at an average of 62.4 out of 100 points, compared to the Asia-Pacific average of 68.1 [MOE, 2024, Higher Education Statistical Report]. This mixed performance underscores a critical inflection point: Taiwan’s universities are losing ground in the global research visibility race, even as domestic investment in higher education has risen by 3.8% year-on-year to NT$98.7 billion in 2024. The competitive landscape, shaped by aggressive recruitment strategies and funding surges in mainland China, South Korea, and Japan, forces a re-evaluation of Taiwan’s academic positioning within the East Asian corridor.

THE Ranking Methodology and Weight Shifts in 2025

The THE World University Rankings methodology underwent its first major recalibration in 2025, increasing the weight of industry income from 2.5% to 4.0% and reducing the teaching reputation survey component from 15% to 12% [THE, 2025, Methodology Update]. For Taiwanese universities, this shift had a measurable impact: institutions with strong corporate partnerships, such as National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), saw their industry income scores rise by an average of 8.3 points, while smaller private universities with weaker industry linkages dropped by 5–7 positions in the overall ranking. The research environment pillar, now accounting for 29% of the total score, emphasizes co-authored publications with international partners—a metric where Taiwan’s average of 18.4% cross-border collaboration lags behind Japan (24.1%) and South Korea (22.7%).

Citation Impact as a Bottleneck

The citation impact metric, which measures the average number of times a university’s published work is cited by scholars globally, remains Taiwan’s weakest pillar. In 2025, NTU scored 62.4 in this category, placing it behind 14 other Asian universities in the top 200. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) reported that Taiwan’s total publications in high-impact journals (top 10% by citation) fell by 2.1% between 2022 and 2024, even as total publication volume rose by 4.3% [MOST, 2024, National Science and Technology Statistics]. This divergence suggests a dilution of research quality, partly attributed to an increase in faculty hiring without proportional investment in laboratory infrastructure and international research networks.

National Taiwan University: A Flagship Under Pressure

National Taiwan University (NTU) , ranked 152nd globally in 2025, has experienced a cumulative decline of 22 positions since 2020. The university’s teaching environment score dropped from 78.1 to 74.5 over the same period, reflecting challenges in faculty-to-student ratios and student satisfaction surveys. NTU’s international outlook score of 61.2—measuring the proportion of international students and faculty—is the lowest among the top 200 Asian universities, compared to the University of Tokyo’s 78.4 and Peking University’s 85.3 [THE, 2025, World University Rankings Data].

Research Output vs. Global Recognition

NTU published 12,847 Scopus-indexed papers in 2024, a 6.1% increase from 2023, yet its field-weighted citation impact (FWCI) remained at 1.18, below the global benchmark of 1.20 for top-tier research universities. The gap is most pronounced in engineering and computer science, where NTU’s FWCI of 1.32 trails behind Tsinghua University’s 1.89 and KAIST’s 1.76. For cross-border tuition payments, some international families use channels like Flywire tuition payment to settle fees, though this does not directly impact research metrics.

Regional Competition: South Korea and Japan Accelerate

South Korea’s Seoul National University (SNU) rose to 62nd place in 2025, while Japan’s University of Tokyo climbed to 28th, both extending their lead over NTU by 90 and 124 positions, respectively. The key driver is research funding: South Korea increased its national R&D budget by 12.3% to KRW 31.2 trillion in 2024, while Japan’s MEXT allocated JPY 1.8 trillion to university research grants, a 6.7% real increase [OECD, 2024, Main Science and Technology Indicators]. Taiwan’s MOST budget, by contrast, grew only 2.9% to NT$136.5 billion, with the share directed to universities remaining static at 34% since 2021.

The Singapore-Hong Kong Benchmark

Singapore’s National University of Singapore (NUS, 19th) and Hong Kong’s University of Hong Kong (HKU, 31st) serve as aspirational benchmarks. Both institutions maintain international outlook scores above 90, compared to Taiwan’s average of 54.3 across all ranked universities. Hong Kong’s Education Bureau reported that 42% of its university faculty hold international doctoral degrees, versus 18% in Taiwan [Hong Kong Education Bureau, 2024, Higher Education Statistics].

Private and Technical Universities: A Two-Tier System

Taiwan’s private universities, such as Tamkang University and Feng Chia University, occupy positions between 800 and 1,200 globally, with a median teaching score of 44.7—significantly lower than public universities (62.3). The THE 2025 data reveals that 23 of Taiwan’s 45 ranked institutions are private, yet none break into the top 500. Technical universities, including National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST, ranked 601–800), perform better in industry income, scoring 68.9 on average, but lag in research volume and international collaboration.

Resource Disparities

Public universities in Taiwan receive an average of NT$1.2 billion per year in MOE block grants, while private institutions receive NT$240 million. This 5:1 ratio has widened from 4:1 in 2020, exacerbating the two-tier system. The MOE’s 2024 report notes that only 7 of 23 private universities have established dedicated international research centers, compared to 14 of 22 public universities [MOE, 2024, University Funding Distribution Report].

The Impact of International Student Recruitment

Taiwan’s international student population reached 98,400 in 2024, a 5.2% increase from 2023, but the proportion of degree-seeking students fell to 41% from 44% in 2020, with a growing share in short-term Mandarin programs. The international outlook metric in THE penalizes this shift, as short-term students do not contribute to long-term research collaboration or citation networks. By contrast, South Korea’s international student enrollment grew by 14.7% to 220,000, with 68% in degree programs [Korean Ministry of Education, 2024, International Education Statistics].

Government Policy Responses

The MOE’s “New Southbound Talent Development Plan” allocated NT$4.5 billion from 2023 to 2025 to attract students from Southeast Asia, but early results show only a 3.1% increase in enrollment from ASEAN countries. The plan targets 50,000 ASEAN degree students by 2027, a goal that would require a 12% annual growth rate—double the current pace.

Subject-Level Performance: Strengths in Engineering, Weaknesses in Life Sciences

In the THE World University Rankings by Subject 2025, Taiwan’s strongest performance is in engineering and technology, where NTU ranks 78th globally, and NTHU ranks 126th. The computer science subject ranking sees NTU at 101–125, while the life sciences subject ranking places NTU at 201–250, a decline from 176–200 in 2022. The clinical and health subject ranking is particularly weak: no Taiwanese university ranks in the top 300, compared to South Korea’s Seoul National University at 89th.

Citation Density by Field

Engineering papers from Taiwanese universities average 8.4 citations per paper, slightly above the global average of 7.9, but life sciences papers average only 11.2 citations, well below the global average of 15.6 [Clarivate, 2024, InCites Benchmarking Data]. The gap reflects lower collaboration rates with top-tier medical research institutions in North America and Europe.

FAQ

Q1: How does Taiwan’s university ranking compare with mainland China and Hong Kong in 2025?

Mainland China’s Tsinghua University ranked 12th globally, Peking University 14th, and Hong Kong’s University of Hong Kong 31st, all significantly ahead of Taiwan’s top institution, NTU, at 152nd. Mainland China placed 7 universities in the top 100, while Taiwan had none. The gap has widened by an average of 15 positions per year since 2020, driven by China’s 18.7% increase in higher education spending to CNY 1.2 trillion in 2024, compared to Taiwan’s 3.8% increase.

Q2: What are the main reasons for the decline in Taiwanese university rankings?

Three primary factors explain the decline: stagnant citation impact (average score 62.4 vs. Asia-Pacific average 68.1), low international outlook (54.3 vs. Singapore’s 92.1), and insufficient R&D budget growth (2.9% in 2024 vs. South Korea’s 12.3%). Additionally, the 2025 THE methodology increased the weight of industry income, which benefited only a few Taiwanese technical universities while penalizing smaller private institutions.

Q3: Which Taiwanese universities are best for engineering and computer science?

For engineering, National Taiwan University (78th globally) and National Tsing Hua University (126th) are the top performers. For computer science, NTU ranks 101–125, followed by National Chiao Tung University (126–150). These institutions benefit from strong industry partnerships in Taiwan’s semiconductor sector, with NTU’s industry income score reaching 91.2 in the THE 2025 ranking, among the highest in Asia for engineering schools.

References

• THE (Times Higher Education). 2025. World University Rankings 2025: Methodology and Full Data Set.
• Ministry of Education (MOE), Taiwan. 2024. Higher Education Statistical Report: University Funding and Performance Indicators.
• Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taiwan. 2024. National Science and Technology Statistics: Research Output and Citation Analysis.
• OECD. 2024. Main Science and Technology Indicators: R&D Expenditure by Country and Sector.
• Clarivate. 2024. InCites Benchmarking Data: Field-Weighted Citation Impact by Institution and Country.