PETALING JAYA: More Malaysian universities have made their way into the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026.
The latest edition of the rankings sees 33 local universities listed, including four new entrants: Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), University of Nottingham Malaysia, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia and University of Cyberjaya.
Ranking first in the country is Universiti Malaya, which sits at =166 with a score of 85.4. (Note: = denotes it shares the rank with another institution).
It is followed by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (=208), Universiti Sains Malaysia (=248) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (=329).
UCSI University is the top private university in Malaysia, rising 138 spots to No. 334 globally, 57th in Asia and ninth in South-East Asia.
The university has also secured the highest ranking for Malaysia at the indicator level, placing 18th globally for Environmental Sustainability.
Coming in next is Sunway University, which improved from =480 to =338, followed by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia which dropped 70 spots to =398.
Meanwhile, rising upwards are Taylor’s University from =557 to =418 and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu from =554 to =535.
Rounding off the top 10 institutions in the country is Universiti Teknologi Petronas, rising to =535.
Lund University in Sweden has taken the top spot for the first time since the ranking was established in 2023.
The fourth edition of the rankings features some 2,000 universities across 106 higher education systems, up from around 1,750 in the previous edition.
Overall, the United States is most represented, with 240 universities, followed by China with 163, the United Kingdom with 109, India with 103, and France with 76.
