PhD Faculty Strength Is India’s Advantage: 47 Indian Universities Among QS Asia’s Top 100 | Education and Career News
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QS World University Rankings – Asia 2027: The indicator measures the proportion of a university’s academic staff who hold a PhD. It carries a 5% weight in the methodology.
As many as 15 Indian universities share the first position in Asia in PhD category. (File/Representative image)
India has demonstrated strength in doctoral-qualified faculty, with 47 Indian universities featuring among Asia’s top 100 institutions for the proportion of academic staff holding PhD qualifications, according to the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2027. “India leads research output and doctoral-qualified staff. IIT Delhi drops to 66th,” sates the official notice.
The latest rankings, released by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) on November 3, feature 1,722 universities across 26 higher education systems. India has 325 ranked institutions, including 34 new entrants, making it the second most represented higher education system in the region after mainland China.
India’s performance in the Staff with PhD indicator is a notable highlight. As many as 15 Indian universities share the first position in Asia for this measure, reflecting the country’s strength in having doctoral-qualified academic staff.
The indicator measures the proportion of a university’s academic staff who hold a PhD. It carries a 5% weight in the QS Asia University Rankings methodology. The measure is intended to offer an indication of an institution’s academic staffing and teaching resources.
India also performed strongly in research output relative to academic staff. Five Indian universities featured among Asia’s top 10 for Papers per Faculty, with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) securing the first position. IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee and IIT Ropar were also among the top 10.
However, the rankings point to a gap between research output and its wider academic impact. Only three Indian universities featured among Asia’s top 50 for Citations per Paper, an indicator that measures the impact of research through citations.
The findings highlight India’s growing academic and research capacity, particularly its pool of doctoral-qualified faculty. At the same time, they indicate that improving the reach and influence of research remains an important area for Indian institutions.
IIT Delhi continues to be India’s highest-ranked institution in the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2027, despite falling seven places to 66th from 59th last year. Delhi University, meanwhile, has slipped out of the region’s top 100, dropping from 95th to 106th position.
The QS World University Rankings: Asia 2027 assess 1,722 universities across 26 higher education systems. The rankings use multiple indicators, including academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, research output, research impact, international research network and the proportion of staff holding PhD qualifications.
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Ask News18A total of 47 Indian universities feature among Asia’s top 100 institutions for the proportion of academic staff holding PhD qualifications, according to the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2027.
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