China’s Sichuan University overtakes Stanford, MIT and Oxford in high-quality research

Leading global educational institutes have been eclipsed by a university in southwest China, according to the latest Nature Index

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China’s Sichuan University has overtaken other leading institutions such as Oxford and MIT in the latest Nature Index. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:00pm, 25 Jan 2025Updated: 12:47pm, 25 Jan 2025

A regional university in southwest China, little known to the wider world, has eclipsed much more famous Western institutions with its high-quality scientific research output, according to a new ranking of global universities.

Sichuan University (SCU), in Chengdu, the provincial capital, has overtaken Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Oxford University and the University of Tokyo in less than two years, according to the latest Nature Index.

The index – maintained by the highly regarded academic journal, Nature – ranks research institutions based on their contributions to articles published in the world’s most influential science journals.

Updated on Monday, the list now shows SCU in 11th place among the world’s leading academic institutions based on research output between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024.

Also, while America’s Harvard University has the top spot on the list, the other nine institutions in the top 10 are all in China.

SCU has come far in just two years. Back in 2023, it was ranked 26th in the Nature Index, overshadowed by many Western establishments, such as the University of Michigan and the University of California, San Diego.