Sejong University in Seoul ranked ninth among South Korean universities in the 2021 world university rankings from the Times Higher Education, the college announced Monday.

The UK institution for higher education moved Sejong University up one notch compared with last year’s evaluation. Its standing among 1,527 universities in 93 countries climbed from 401st-500th place last year to 301st-350th place this year.

The World University Rankings evaluates universities every year on 13 criteria including education conditions, research results, thesis citation rate and internationalization.

Sejong University emphasized that it ranked second in Korea for its thesis citation rate, while its general standing had greatly improved in recent years.

The university said this improvement was the result of its continued push for quantitative growth and qualitative improvement through various research support systems. Since 2013, the institution added, it had strengthened support for theses to be published in top academic journals.

The work also helped Sejong University rank No. 1 among general universities in Korea for the third consecutive year on the 2020 Leiden University Evaluation, which evaluates world universities at the thesis level.

“Our university has evaluated thesis achievements and research assignments in order to recruit excellent teachers. The fruits of those efforts are showing tangible results in evaluation in various fields,” said Bae Deok-hyo, president of Sejong University, in a statement.

“We will continue to advance to a global prestigious school through the improvement of the quality of education and research, revitalization of graduate schools, and advancement of the evaluation management system.”

By Ko Jun-tae (ko.juntae@heraldcorp.com)