Oh no not again
NUS beats Princeton, Cornell in social sciences ranking [the ever-annoying Straits Times Interactive: free registration required, gone after three days]
Summary: NUS 10th in social sciences ranking while Princeton 11th, Cornell 13th, Columbia 14th (Wonder who’s 12th?). NUS 17th in arts and humanities ranking while School of Oriental and African Studies in London (?!) 18th, UPenn 19th. Reiterates previous rankings (18th overall, 9th in engineering). Passing mention of NTU. Shih Choon Fong expresses his joy. Ra ra ra.
Great, once again with the chest-beating over the Times Higher Education Supplement’s rankings. It’s absolutely great recognition for some undoubtedly hardworking academia and university staff at NUS, but why does it have to be reported like the rankings are a bloody horse race? Somehow, our reporters feel the need to emphasise that NUS beat Princeton and Cornell — doesn’t being 10th say enough? Why do our news writers feel they have to help us fellow Singaporeans feel good about ourselves by pointing out some random Ivy League school that didn’t rank as highly as our national university? Flashback: “NUS beats Harvard in engineering”, December 2004; note also how they go out of their way to find the next highest ranked Ivy League school for the arts and humanities ranking.
I feel like I’m listening to a typically Singaporean parent ramble on about how his child has done so well in school, better than this kid who excels in sports, and that other kid who did really well for his PSLE but now not doing so well lah, eh, my boy 10th in the level leh! Not bad hor?
I’m sure we’ll be constantly reminded about these rankings in future ST articles on higher education, so I shan’t belabour my point any further. Well, not until the next THES ranking comes out and the ST proudly declares that NUS is ahead of the India Institute of Technology in basket-weaving.
With my apparent low tolerance for this kind of thing, I’m probably going to implode when I start teaching. Can you tell?
Oh, and happy lunar new year.
February 10th, 2005 at 8:06 pm
do u even like physics? they won’t let u teach ee/cs?
February 10th, 2005 at 8:24 pm
Dude, there isn’t EE/CS in the JC curriculum — they didn’t revamp it *that* much. We’ll see what the polys (and the MOE bureaucracy) say about my request.
February 12th, 2005 at 10:45 am
heh ok. btw i hope there’s a new icered thread 4 this. the last one provided me with hours of endless amusement.
February 13th, 2005 at 12:36 pm
If ST is so ga-ga over rankings, why didn’t they publish the rankings on press freedom in their front page? Singapore was a whooping 135 out of a field of 193 countries.
It could just be a branding gimmick. If they can get enough people to believe that NUS is good, then maybe the dream will become a reality. Improved self-confidence, higher quality intake, etc.
February 14th, 2005 at 10:40 am
Huh? I thought that the ST was (and it still is) ranked #147? - i’ve been referring it as “the 147th press” when it was reported that the ST is just 1 place above the Saddam Hussein Iraqi press.
Share the same sentiments as yj - am shocked that such comparisons are becoming the “in” thing for the ST… and of all timings, published during the Lunar New Year festives.
I believe that the Shanghai Jiaotong Daxue (univ.) rankings last year was a more accurate (or realistic) measure of Singapore univ. standards: NUS @ #101-152 position & NTU @ #302-403 position.