Times Higher Education released the 2016-2017 World University Rankings on September 21, 2016. University of Oxford snatched the top spot from Caltech as China's rise continues.

Four Chinese universities made their way into the Top 50 this year, with Peking University at 29th, Tsinghua University 35th, University of Hong Kong at 43rd, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology at 49th.

There are four main indicators underlying the methodology of the ranking: teaching, research, citations, and international outlook. Within the four domains, University of Hong Kong made the Top 100 for the first time this year. City University of Hong Kong, University of Science and Technology of China, Fudan University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University joined the Top 200.

Furthermore, China's two flagship universities have both made gains – Peking University joins the top 30 at 29th (up from 42nd last year), while Tsinghua University joins the top 40 at 35th (up from joint 47th).