Universiti Malaya rises to 59th in QS world rankings

Universiti Malaya (UM) has risen to 59th spot, its highest ever in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, after it rose 11 places.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) at 132nd, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) at 141, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in 142 and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia at 187 all enjoyed improvements, leaving Malaysia with five universities in the world's top 200.

“UM improved its performance across four of the six metrics utilised by QS, including the noteworthy rise of 76 places in citations per faculty, the research impact indicator,” said QS in a statement today.

Meanwhile, Taylor’s University climbed 135 spots, to rank 379 globally, making it the top Malaysian private university and the sixth overall.

Taylor’s University is one of the few Asian universities to be awarded the QS 5 Stars rating for online learning, a new single category evaluation within QS Stars. 

It is especially notable given that this is an unprecedented time for the education industry globally, as universities have switched to online or distance learning in lieu of physical classes.

Others in the Top 500 included UCSI and University Teknologi Petronas, while a further 12 public and private universities were ranked between 501 and 1,000.

The list is headed by familiar names such as MIT, Stanford, Harvard, CalTech, Oxford and Cambridge. The National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University were in 11th and 13th places respectively.

Universiti Malaya was ranked third among the Asean countries.

QS research director Ben Sowter said the improvement of Malaysian universities in its rankings was the result of concerted efforts and sustained investment.

“The reputation of the local universities is growing steadily among the international academic community and global employers. The positive trend must be celebrated as it is an extraordinary result especially considering that the rankings are dynamic and very competitive,” he added.

The QS ranking, which was first released in 2004, is viewed as one of the three most widely read university rankings in the world, along with Academic Ranking of World Universities and Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

 - Mkini