A new study prepared by the prestigious news magazine US News & World Report has rank the 125 top ranked universities in the Middle East and Arab World, with the best located in Saudi Arabia and in Egypt. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan dominate the list with other universities from other Arab countries making the list, including from occupied Palestine
By Ray Hanania
covering Chicago
City Hall
(1976-1992)
US News & World Report has released a study that ranks the best universities in the Middle East and Arab World and institutions in Saudi Arabia and Egypt lead the way. The rankings are based on academic research performance and reputation among Arab region academics and employers, reflecting how academics and employers int he region view the universities.
In the list of the list of the 125 best universities in the Middle East, the top 10 universities are listed as: King Saud University in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology in Thuwal, Cairo University in Giza, the American University of Beirut, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals in Dhahran, Ain Shams University in Cairo, Alexandria University, United Arab Emirates university in Al Ain, and Universite de Sfax in Sfax, Tunisia.
The list shows Kuwait University at ranked #15, the University of Jordan ranked #19, the American University of Sharjah ranked #21, Qatar University ranked #24, and Al Azhar University ranked at #26.
An Najah University in Nablus ranks #80 and The Islamic University of Gaza ranks #86. It’s quite an achievement for Palestinian universities considering that all of the universities there suffer under constant violence and brutality from Israel’s racist government and from settler terrorists.
Egypt has 25 universities that made the top 125 list. Saudi Arabia has 16 universities that made the top 125 list. Jordan has 10 universities that made the top 125 list. Lebanon and Iraq both have 5 universities that made the top 125 list. Only two Syrian Universities made the top 125 list.
Many universities in the region did not make the list.
You can click here to view the entire list or search for a specific university.
Here is the press release on the study:
U.S. News & World Report, the U.S.-based publisher of Best Colleges and Best Graduate Schools, today unveiled the 2016 Best Arab Region Universities rankings on usnews.com. The latest edition is the largest in-depth ranking of higher education institutions in the Arab region.
New in 2016, the U.S. News Best Arab Region Universities rankings have been expanded to include 124 universities, up from 91, and eight new subject rankings in areas such as business, management and accounting; and economics, econometrics and finance. Also new, U.S. News ranked institutions overall using a methodology that incorporates both academic research performance and reputation among Arab region academics and employers.
Assisting in the research effort, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development supported this year’s edition as a way to create global consistency and add value to higher education in the region. QF’s support also ensures that the Middle East and North Africa region can be ranked using relevant global criteria, which enables regional institutes to strengthen their international influence.
The Best Arab Region Universities rankings are led by Robert Morse, chief data strategist and head of educational research at U.S. News, who has played a significant role in the development of standardized data for U.S. higher education.
“The rankings offer prospective students, families, policymakers and employers a wealth of information on the schools in their region,” said Mr. Morse. “With the enhanced data, students can make more accurate comparisons between schools.”
Three universities in Saudi Arabia once again top the list of Best Arab Region Universities. King Saud University in Riyadh claims the No. 1 spot, followed by King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah at No. 2 and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology in Thuwal at No. 3.
Egypt has the most universities in the overall rankings with 25 institutions earning a spot. Next is Algeria with 20 universities, followed by Saudi Arabia with 16.
The rankings are based on research data from Elsevier’s Scopus, the world’s largest abstract and citation database, and metrics powered by SciVal analytics, part of the Elsevier Research Intelligence portfolio, and separate academic and employer reputation surveys conducted only in the Arab region by Ipsos in MENA.
About U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is a digital news and information company that empowers people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. Focusing on Education, Health, Personal Finance, Travel, Cars and News & Opinion, USNews.com provides consumer advice, rankings, news and analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all stages of life. More than 37 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered inWashington, D.C.
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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