China has come out top in a new ranking that identifies the universities that have shown the most significant growth in the number of high-quality research publications.
The country takes the top nine spots and two-fifths (40) of the top 100 places in the Nature Index 2016 Rising Stars ranking.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences tops the list having increased its number of publications in high-quality journals by 245 – or 22 per cent – between 2012 and 2015. Peking University, in second place, grew its publications by 88 during that period.
The UK is the only other nation to make the top 10, with the University of Oxford in 10th place. The country claims nine of the top 100 places, making it the third most-represented nation in the list.
The US is second by number of institutions (11), led by Stanford University in 12th place.
Universities in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland are also included.
The Nature Index is a database that tracks the amount of research that more than 8,000 universities have contributed to 68 high-quality journals. The Rising Stars list includes the top 100 most improved institutions, based on the change in the number of publications by weighted fractional count (WFC).
Fractional counts for articles from specialist astronomy and astrophysics journals have been down weighted between 2012 and 2015.
Nature Index 2016 Rising Stars: top 100
The ranking below includes links to the profiles of institutions that also feature in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015-2016.
| Rank | Institution | Country | WFC 2015 | Total number of articles 2015 | Change in WFC 2012-2015 | Change in WFC 2012-2015 (%) |
| 1 | Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) | China | 1357.82 | 3449 | 245.02 | 22.02 |
| 2 | Peking University (PKU) | China | 300.39 | 1113 | 88.32 | 41.64 |
| 3 | Nanjing University (NJU) | China | 253.62 | 666 | 84.48 | 49.95 |
| 4 | University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) | China | 229.13 | 661 | 82.35 | 56.11 |
| 5 | Nankai University (NKU) | China | 150.88 | 334 | 65.04 | 75.76 |
| 6 | Zhejiang University (ZJU) | China | 183.62 | 386 | 61.27 | 50.08 |
| 7 | Fudan University | China | 177.65 | 374 | 56.12 | 46.17 |
| 8 | Tsinghua University (TH) | China | 231.33 | 785 | 52.74 | 29.53 |
| 9 | Soochow University | China | 108.47 | 209 | 52.43 | 93.57 |
| 10 | University of Oxford | UK | 398.38 | 1373 | 52.25 | 15.1 |
| 11 | Institute for Basic Science (IBS) | South Korea | 50.31 | 189 | 49.27 | 4732.54 |
| 12 | Stanford University | US | 530.83 | 1514 | 48.84 | 10.13 |
| 13 | East China Normal University (ECNU) | China | 83.9 | 164 | 48.35 | 136.03 |
| 14 | Hunan University (HNU) | China | 92.47 | 144 | 43.26 | 87.88 |
| 15 | Sichuan University (SCU) | China | 83.22 | 186 | 38.35 | 85.45 |
| 16 | Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) | India | 162.59 | 302 | 35.75 | 28.19 |
| 17 | Xiamen University (XMU) | China | 112.49 | 240 | 35.38 | 45.89 |
| 18 | University of Manchester (UoM) | UK | 149.09 | 665 | 32.13 | 27.47 |
| 19 | King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) | Saudi Arabia | 72.19 | 176 | 31.67 | 78.19 |
| 20 | Nanyang Technological University (NTU) | Singapore | 207.83 | 423 | 30.23 | 17.02 |
| 21 | Chongqing University (CQU) | China | 33.2 | 69 | 30.2 | 1006.69 |
| 22 | Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) | Switzerland | 215.28 | 689 | 28.5 | 15.26 |
| 23 | Imperial College London (ICL) | UK | 199.52 | 838 | 28.49 | 16.66 |
| 24 | Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) | India | 78.67 | 138 | 27.71 | 54.36 |
| 25 | Southwest University (SWU) | China | 45.36 | 67 | 26.99 | 146.93 |
| 26 | Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (IIT) | Israel | 95.59 | 291 | 26.84 | 39.05 |
| 27 | Tianjin University (TJU) | China | 64.02 | 206 | 26.29 | 69.68 |
| 28 | Wuhan University (WHU) | China | 100.27 | 185 | 25.99 | 35 |
| 29 | Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) | US | 92.15 | 241 | 25.86 | 39.01 |
| 30 | Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres | Germany | 413.71 | 1663 | 25.1 | 6.46 |
| 31 | North Carolina State University (NCSU) | US | 76.29 | 223 | 24.58 | 47.53 |
| 32 | Stockholm University | Sweden | 81.22 | 529 | 24.29 | 42.67 |
| 33 | University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) | China | 88.73 | 547 | 23.78 | 36.6 |
| 34 | Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) | China | 103.71 | 242 | 23.57 | 29.42 |
| 35 | Jilin University (JLU) | China | 87.47 | 187 | 22.68 | 35 |
| 36 | Lanzhou University (LZU) | China | 89.4 | 178 | 21.99 | 32.62 |
| 37 | McGill University | Canada | 162.07 | 576 | 21.83 | 15.56 |
| 38 | East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) | China | 88.55 | 159 | 21.22 | 31.52 |
| 39 | Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) | China | 76.12 | 200 | 21.05 | 38.22 |
| 40 | South China University of Technology (SCUT) | China | 52.12 | 112 | 20.72 | 65.96 |
| 41 | University of Southampton (Soton) | UK | 90.47 | 409 | 20.66 | 29.59 |
| 42 | Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU) | China | 50.78 | 121 | 20.51 | 67.75 |
| 43 | Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) | China | 39.73 | 86 | 20.43 | 105.82 |
| 44 | University College London (UCL) | UK | 214.83 | 972 | 20.27 | 10.42 |
| 45 | Changzhou University (CZU) | China | 20.36 | 33 | 19.8 | 3566.4 |
| 46 | Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) | China | 63.78 | 176 | 19.62 | 44.45 |
| 47 | King's College London (KCL) | UK | 92.43 | 397 | 19.08 | 26.01 |
| 48 | ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich | Switzerland | 323.06 | 948 | 19.04 | 6.26 |
| 49 | Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Italy | 41.39 | 129 | 18.97 | 84.64 |
| 50 | Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) | South Korea | 41.49 | 113 | 18.41 | 79.76 |
| 51 | Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) | US | 101.06 | 303 | 18.41 | 22.27 |
| 52 | University of New South Wales (UNSW) | Australia | 79.09 | 256 | 18.33 | 30.17 |
| 53 | Beijing Normal University (BNU) | China | 54.24 | 177 | 17.51 | 47.66 |
| 54 | Central South University (CSU) | China | 23.57 | 75 | 17.11 | 265.24 |
| 55 | Shaanxi Normal University (SNNU) | China | 20.52 | 34 | 17.02 | 485.19 |
| 56 | Shandong Normal University (SDNU) | China | 25.33 | 33 | 16.5 | 186.98 |
| 57 | The Rockefeller University | US | 89.83 | 256 | 16.23 | 22.06 |
| 58 | The University of Queensland (UQ) | Australia | 98.09 | 348 | 15.93 | 19.39 |
| 59 | University of Regensburg (UR) | Germany | 72.58 | 156 | 15.72 | 27.65 |
| 60 | Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) | India | 46.53 | 228 | 15.68 | 50.84 |
| 61 | Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) | China | 32.03 | 53 | 15.4 | 92.63 |
| 62 | South University of Science and Technology of China (SUSTC) | China | 15.8 | 36 | 15.18 | 2442.49 |
| 63 | University of Sussex (US) | UK | 33.26 | 251 | 15.17 | 83.9 |
| 64 | Zhengzhou University (ZZU) | China | 22.93 | 59 | 15.16 | 194.95 |
| 65 | University of Zurich (UZH) | Switzerland | 108.92 | 510 | 15.08 | 16.07 |
| 66 | Indian Institute of Science (IISc) | India | 85.45 | 137 | 14.57 | 20.56 |
| 67 | Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI) | Canada | 46.54 | 150 | 14.28 | 44.25 |
| 68 | University of Pennsylvania (Penn) | US | 257.16 | 646 | 14.22 | 5.85 |
| 69 | Jagiellonian University (UJ) | Poland | 31 | 186 | 13.63 | 78.48 |
| 70 | Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) | India | 119.8 | 170 | 13.58 | 12.79 |
| 71 | University of Münster (WWU) | Germany | 101.27 | 229 | 13.49 | 15.36 |
| 72 | Beihang University (BUAA) | China | 31.81 | 99 | 13.23 | 71.15 |
| 73 | Lund University (LU) | Sweden | 85.83 | 338 | 13.08 | 17.98 |
| 74 | University of Bath | UK | 40.15 | 98 | 13.01 | 47.96 |
| 75 | National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) | France | 85.55 | 739 | 12.7 | 17.43 |
| 76 | University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) | Germany | 89.64 | 290 | 12.69 | 16.49 |
| 77 | University of Copenhagen (UCPH) | Denmark | 125.32 | 679 | 12.69 | 11.27 |
| 78 | Tongji University | China | 33.27 | 110 | 12.48 | 60.02 |
| 79 | U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | US | 51.1 | 141 | 12.46 | 32.25 |
| 80 | University of Michigan (U-M) | US | 304.18 | 944 | 12.35 | 4.23 |
| 81 | São Paulo State University (UNESP) | Brazil | 23.52 | 112 | 12.31 | 109.87 |
| 82 | University of Basel (UB) | Switzerland | 92.77 | 258 | 12.26 | 15.23 |
| 83 | University of Würzburg | Germany | 114.81 | 328 | 12.21 | 11.89 |
| 84 | University of Girona (UdG) | Spain | 16.15 | 38 | 12.18 | 306.61 |
| 85 | Heidelberg University (Uni Heidelberg) | Germany | 121.53 | 690 | 12.09 | 11.04 |
| 86 | University of Leeds | UK | 68.52 | 236 | 11.93 | 21.08 |
| 87 | Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC) - Paris 6 | France | 103.02 | 1472 | 11.77 | 12.9 |
| 88 | Southeast University (SEU) | China | 37.51 | 82 | 11.73 | 45.51 |
| 89 | Leibniz Association | Germany | 159.77 | 750 | 11.62 | 7.85 |
| 90 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) | US | 54.74 | 159 | 11.43 | 26.39 |
| 91 | Saint Petersburg State University (SPbGU) | Russia | 25.36 | 122 | 11.39 | 81.53 |
| 92 | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) | US | 95.63 | 1182 | 11.33 | 13.44 |
| 93 | Umeå University (UMU) | Sweden | 30.84 | 83 | 11.2 | 57.03 |
| 94 | Curtin University | Australia | 24.16 | 233 | 10.93 | 82.59 |
| 95 | University of Turin (UNITO) | Italy | 33.99 | 322 | 10.76 | 46.33 |
| 96 | University of Warsaw (UW) | Poland | 37.5 | 211 | 10.58 | 39.32 |
| 97 | University of Stuttgart | Germany | 51.42 | 119 | 10.34 | 25.18 |
| 98 | Nanjing University of Science and Technology (NUST) | China | 17.5 | 42 | 10.23 | 140.83 |
| 99 | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) | US | 159.73 | 863 | 9.9 | 6.61 |
| 100 | Nanjing Normal University (NNU) | China | 19.73 | 55 | 9.79 | 98.39 |
