KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 ― Malaysia's oldest university, Universiti Malaya (UM) has maintained its reign as the country's top varsity in the QS World University Rankings 2024 top 100 for the sixth consecutive year.
In the latest edition of the QS World University Rankings, UM is also the sole higher education institution listed among the top 100, climbing five spots to sit at 65th.
At second place is Penang's Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) which moved six spots from 143rd to 137th.
Other research universities ― Universiti Putra Malaysia (158th), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (159th) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (188th) ― round up the institutions listed in the top 200.
Separately, Taylor’s University remained the top private university in Malaysia at 284th, followed by UCSI University at 300th after dropping 16 spots from the previous year.
Overall, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States continues to dominate the ranking for the 12th year, while the United Kingdom’s University of Cambridge, United Kingdom came in second and University of Oxford rises to third.
The National University of Singapore was also the only Asian higher learning institution to make it to the top 10, rising up by three spots from 11th to 8th.
QS said Malaysian institutions perform exceptionally in QS’ indicators related to internationalisation, specifically, International Student Ratio, which assesses global attractiveness and on-campus diversity with five universities among the world top 100.
Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU) achieves Malaysia’s highest rank for any individual indicator in this metric, placing 16th.
However, it said Malaysian institutions experienced challenges in producing skilled and work-ready graduates according to Employment Outcomes, which assesses graduate employment rates and career prospects.
UM is the only university among the top 400. It ranks 286th.
QS senior Vice President Ben Sowter said Malaysian higher education shined as a beacon of diversity and internationalisation, attracting talent from around the world.
“With its strong performance in international student ratio and a highly diverse faculty and student body, Malaysia's universities offer a vibrant and inclusive learning environment.
“However, its challenges lie in bridging the gap between academia and industry, as the country faces hurdles in producing work-ready graduates.
“A focus on experiential learning and global partnerships could help it develop this area,” he said.
The full list of rankings can be seen here.
