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Egypt dominates 2018’s list of top universities in Arab League
21 Mar 2018
Egypt dominates Times Higher Education‘s list of 2018’s best universities in the Arab World, with nine universities represented out of 32.
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz University is the top university in 2018, followed by UAE’s Khalifa University (KU) and Qatar University in second and third places respectively.
Dr Tod Laursen, interim president of U said, as reported by The National:
“It was a great pleasure for me, and several other members of the KU team, to attend the THE Mena Summit in Jeddah where the latest THE Arab World Rankings were announced.
“I am so pleased with KU’s high rankings in the most recent release and proud of the efforts of our faculty, staff and students that made this possible. Attending this summit, with academics from around the world, makes clear that our university continues to advance an international reputation through our collective efforts,” he added.
Established in 1973, Qatar University is the first and largest higher education institution in the country. Source: Shutterstock
Egypt’s highest-ranking institution is Beni Suef University at 10th place – it was previously a branch of Cairo University before becoming independent in 2005. Cairo’s American University, at 11th place, is an English-language and American-accredited institution which offers 36 undergraduate, 44 master’s and two PhD programs rooted in a liberal arts education, according to its website.
The Arab World Rankings is compiled based on THE‘s overall World University Rankings results and filtering out universities located in Arab League member states.
All top five institutions are located in the Middle East, and most of the institutions in the league table specialise in science and technology.
These are the top 20 institutions on this year’s list:
| Arab World Ranking 2018 | Arab World Ranking 2017 | University | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | King Abdulaziz University | Saudi Arabia |
| 2 | NR | Khalifa University | United Arab Emirates |
| 3 | 5 | Qatar University | Qatar |
| 4 | 8 | Jordan University of Science and Technology | Jordan |
| 5 | 6 | United Arab Emirates University | United Arab Emirates |
| 6 | 7 | American University of Beirut | Lebanon |
| 7 | 9 | Alfaisal University | Saudi Arabia |
| 8 | 3 | King Saud University | Saudi Arabia |
| 9 | 2 | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | Saudi Arabia |
| 10 | NR | Beni-Suef University | Egypt |
| 11 | 13 | American University in Cairo | Egypt |
| 12 | 14 | American University of Sharjah | United Arab Emirates |
| 13 | 10 | Kuwait University | Kuwait |
| 14 | NR | University of Sharjah | United Arab Emirates |
| 15 | 12 | Sultan Qaboos University | Oman |
| 16 | 11 | Suez Canal University | Egypt |
| 17 | 18 | Cairo University | Egypt |
| 18 | 22 | Mansoura University | Egypt |
| 19 | 17 | University of Marrakech Cadi Ayyad | Morocco |
| 20 | 21 | Mohammed V University of Rabat | Morocco |
Source: Times Higher Education
Most international students in Saudi Arabia and the UAE originate from countries in the region such as Syria, Yemen and Jordan. For Egypt, however, the majority of students come from Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, as well as African countries like Nigeria and Somalia.
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