Tsinghua University Vs Peking University

If you’re looking to study at one of the top universities in China, it’s almost certain that you’re considering Tsinghua University and Peking University. Both based in capital city Beijing, these two institutions are consistently ranked as the top two in China.

In the QS World University Rankings® 2019, Tsinghua University is ranked 17th in the world, ahead of Peking University which is in 30th place. Elsewhere, in the latest edition of the QS BRICS University Rankings – which highlights leading universities in the five BRICS countries – they are the top two universities, largely thanks to their strong global reputations.

Read on for more details of how these two top universities in China compare in the BRICS ranking, and what the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject reveals about their relative subject strengths.

Tsinghua University Vs Peking University in the BRICS rankings

Comparison based on the QS BRICS University Rankings 2019

As the table above shows, these two leading Chinese universities claim the strongest reputations among any of the leading BRICS institutions, heading the list among both academics and employers. While Peking University comes out slightly ahead in these two reputation surveys, Tsinghua is the leader on three of the other indicators used.

Notably, Peking University offers a slightly more international campus community, with a higher proportion of international faculty members and students, although Tsinghua is still scored reasonably well for these factors. 

In terms of research impact, the two universities are fairly well matched. Aside from Peking’s faculty/student ration, both universities’ lowest scores come in the ‘staff with PhD’ indicator, which assesses the proportion of academic staff with a PhD-level qualification. However, they are both ranked extremely well for the number of academic papers being produced by their faculty and the number of citations they receive per academic paper.

So, while performing at similar levels overall, how do the two top universities in China compare on individual subjects?

Tsinghua University Vs Peking University in the subject rankings

Between them, China’s top two universities claim a very impressive presence in the QS World University Rankings by Subject. Tsinghua University is ranked among the world’s best for 33 out of a possible 46 subjects, while Peking University makes 37 appearances.

Tsinghua’s strongest subjects are for civil and structural engineering (ranked ninth in the world), architecture/built environment and engineering & technology (both 10th) and chemical engineering (11th). Peking’s top three positions are for modern languages (10th), natural sciences (14th) and geography (16th).

Overall, Peking University appears to be stronger in a wider range of subject areas, as it typically outperforms Tsinghua in all subject areas apart from engineering and technology. A complete breakdown of the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019, as well as each university’s ranking for each broad subject area, can be seen below.

Comparison based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019

Which of these two top universities in China would you choose, and why? Let us know in the comments below.

This article was originally published in August 2015. It was updated in February 2019.