Shanghai Ranking 2025: Hassan II University remains Morocco's sole representative

Saturday 16 August 2025 - 09:20

By: Dakir Madiha

Shanghai Ranking 2025: Hassan II University remains Morocco's sole representative

The 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), published by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, lists Hassan II University of Casablanca (UH2C) as the only Moroccan institution among the world’s top 1,000 universities. Maintaining its position in the 901-1000 category, UH2C continues to uphold its reputation as a key educational hub in North Africa.

Morocco’s leading university on the global stage

Established in 1975, UH2C serves as a cornerstone of higher education in Morocco’s economic capital, Casablanca. The university caters to over 143,521 students through a wide network of faculties, schools, and institutes. Among these students, 94,148 are undergraduates, while 2,400 (2%) are international students.

UH2C’s strongest performance comes in Human Biological Sciences, where it ranks globally in the 301-400 range. This achievement highlights the institution’s commitment to advancing research and academic excellence in critical fields.

“Hassan II University of Casablanca is a leading public university in Morocco,” states the Shanghai Ranking profile. “It reflects Morocco’s growing academic influence and plays a vital role in sustainable development across North Africa and the African continent.”

Global highlights in the 2025 ARWU

At the top of the ARWU rankings, Harvard University remains the global leader for the 23rd consecutive year, followed by Stanford University and MIT. Other top 10 universities include Cambridge (4th), Berkeley (5th), Oxford (6th), Princeton (7th), Columbia (8th), Caltech (9th), and the University of Chicago (10th).

In continental Europe, Paris-Saclay University (13th) continues to lead, while Tsinghua University (18th) emerges as Asia’s top-ranked institution after climbing four positions. The University of Melbourne (38th) holds the highest rank in Oceania for the fifteenth year in a row.

This year’s ARWU also welcomes two additions to the top 100: City University of Hong Kong (99th) and Stockholm University (100th). Across the broader rankings, 25 universities entered the top 500, and 39 institutions made their debut in the top 1,000.

Chinese universities continue to show remarkable progress, with 222 institutions in the top 1,000, surpassing the United States’ 183 entries. However, American universities dominate the elite top 100, with 37 entries compared to mainland China’s 13 and the UK’s 8.

Morocco’s growing academic footprint

Morocco joins 60 other countries with at least one university featured in the ARWU rankings. Regionally, UH2C’s presence highlights Morocco’s ambition to strengthen its higher education and research sectors.

The ARWU methodology evaluates over 2,500 universities globally using six indicators, including Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals awarded to alumni and staff, research output in prestigious journals like Nature and Science, citation impact, and overall academic performance.

With its steady ranking and notable achievements in research, Hassan II University of Casablanca underscores Morocco’s potential to further expand its influence in the global academic landscape.