Three UAE universities have been ranked among the world’s top 200 universities for the first time, according to the annual Times Higher Education global university reputation rankings. These UAE institutions include Abu Dhabi University (101−125), Al Ain University (101−125), and Zayed University (151−175).
An analysis by Times Higher Education found that the reputation of these three UAE universities has "improved ninefold" since 2021, indicating that the government and institutions' efforts to provide students with a world-class education are paying off and gaining respect in academic circles.
Among other countries in the region, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon showed positive results, with their universities' reputations tripling.
The Times Higher Education World Reputation results showed that, on average, 70.6% of votes for Arab universities came from academics in the region.
In the world ranking, Harvard University was recognized as the most authoritative, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Oxford University, and Cambridge University.
The University of California, Princeton University, Tsinghua University, Yale University, and The University of Tokyo are next. The Times Higher Education World Reputation Ranking uses United Nations data as a guide to ensure that the data coverage is as representative of global scholarship as possible. The survey questionnaire is intended only for experienced, published scholars.
The questionnaires measure the reputation of universities, first, in the area of research and, second, in the area of education. A total of 38,796 respondents from 166 countries were surveyed.