PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian university has entered the top 40 Asian universities for the first time, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings 2026.
Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) climbed eight places to 35th in Asia, its highest-ever position, sharing the rank with China's Tianjin University.
However, Universiti Malaya (UM) slipped one place to 65th, remaining the country’s second-highest-ranked institution.
Out of the 27 Malaysian institutions in this year’s rankings, a record six universities are in the top 100, double last year’s tally.
Sunway University rose to =84th place from =141st last year, while Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia rose to =87th place from joint 103rd, and Universiti Sains Malaysia climbed to =100th place from =103rd.
The “=” denotes a shared rank with another institution.
Others in the top 200 include Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (95th), Universiti Putra Malaysia (=123rd), Universiti Utara Malaysia (125th), Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (165th), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (168th), and Universiti Tenaga Nasional (=186th).
Overall, nine Malaysian universities improved their positions while a further eight retained their spots from last year.
In total, 929 universities from 36 countries/territories are ranked this year, up from 853 universities and 35 countries/territories last year.
Mainland China leads the rankings again, with Tsinghua University in first place for the eighth consecutive year, while Peking University retains second place.
China holds five of the top 10 spots, with Fudan University and Zhejiang University retaining their positions at seventh and eighth, respectively. Shanghai Jiao Tong University moves up one place to ninth.
Institutions from Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong complete the rest of the top 10, with little change at the top from the 2025 rankings.
“It is encouraging to see strong results from South-East Asia – one of the most dynamic regions in the world.
“Malaysia, in particular, has made great strides in the rankings this year and will be one to watch, as it increasingly becomes a major higher education player, not just in the continent but also in the world,” said THE chief global affairs officer Phil Baty in a statement on Wednesday (April 22).
The performance indicators used in the THE Asia University Rankings are grouped into five areas: teaching (the learning environment); research environment (volume, income and reputation); research quality (citation impact, research strength, research excellence and research influence); international outlook (staff, students and research); and industry (income and patents).
The full rankings can be viewed at: https://www.
