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Asean has two top-30 universities for the first time in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025

by StudyMalaysia.com on October 11, 2024 | Top Stories, University Rankings

Asean has two top-30 universities for the first time in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 - StudyMalaysia.com

  • Singapore’s National University of Singapore is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) highest-ranked university, at 17th in the world, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, enters the world top 30, in 30th place.
  • A Malaysian university has entered the top 250 for the very first time.
  • Vietnam’s UEH University makes an impressive debut, entering the rankings in band 501–600.
  • Thailand has two top-800 universities.
  • A record 93 universities from Asean make the 2025 edition of the rankings, up 116 per cent from 43 in the 2020 edition.
  • The University of Indonesia, in band 801–1,000 (unchanged from last year), has retained its number one position in Indonesia.
  • Ateneo de Manila University is the highest-ranked university in the Philippines.
  • Universiti Brunei Darussalam in Brunei Darussalam is the country’s highest-ranked institution, in band 501–600.
  • Oxford University in the UK takes the number one spot for a record-breaking ninth consecutive year.
  • The United States has a new leader, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in second place.
  • Australia’s top five universities all slip down the rankings.
  • Three new countries join the top 200 of the rankings: Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, bringing the total to 30 countries.
  • More than 2,000 universities are ranked – the largest number ever.
  • The THE World University Rankings are the most comprehensive, rigorous, and balanced global rankings assessing research-intensive universities across 18 performance indicators.

Asean Boasts Two Top-30 Universities Thanks to Singapore’s Success

Asean has two world top-30 universities for the first time ever in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2025, released today. Singapore has triumphed as its top-ranked National University of Singapore moves up to 17th, from 19th last year, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, joins the top 30, ranking 30th, also up two places from last year.

Universiti Teknologi Petronas is Malaysia’s highest-ranked institution and joins the top 250 for the first time in band 201–250, up from band 301–350 last year.

Chulalongkorn University and Mahidol University are Thailand’s highest-ranked universities, both in band 601–800 (no change from last year), and Maejo University has debuted strongly this year in band 1201–1500 – ahead of eight Thai universities.

Ateneo de Manila University is the highest-ranked university in the Philippines, in band 1001–1200, and is the country’s highest-ranked university since joining the rankings in 2023.

Asean Universities in the Top 800 of the THE World University Rankings 2025

UniversityCountryRank 2025Rank 2024
National University of SingaporeSingapore1719
Nanyang Technological University, SingaporeSingapore3032
Universiti Teknologi PetronasMalaysia201–250301–350
University of MalayaMalaysia251–300251–300
Sunway UniversityMalaysia401–500601–800
Universiti Kebangsaan MalaysiaMalaysia401–500401–500
Universiti Sains MalaysiaMalaysia401–500401–500
Universiti Teknologi MalaysiaMalaysia401–500401–500
Universiti Utara MalaysiaMalaysia401–500401–500
UEH UniversityVietnam501–600NR
Universiti Brunei DarussalamBrunei Darussalam501–600401–500
Chulalongkorn UniversityThailand601–800601–800
Duy Tan UniversityVietnam601–800601–800
Mahidol UniversityThailand601–800601–800
Ton Duc Thang UniversityVietnam601–800601–800
Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA)Malaysia601–800601–800
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan IdrisMalaysia601–800601–800
Universiti Putra MalaysiaMalaysia601–800501–600
Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN)Malaysia601–800601–800

THE World University Rankings 2025, Times Higher Education World University Rankings

Record Year for ASEAN Participation

A record 93 ASEAN universities are ranked this year, up from 80 last year. Indonesia boasts the most newcomers with seven new universities ranked; the highest ranked is Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta in band 1,201-1,500.

Indonesia has the most ranked universities from the ASEAN with 31 institutions represented. Malaysia has the second most ranked institutions with 23 and Thailand is third with 20.

Of Malaysia’s 23 universities, four went up, with Sunway University in Malaysia jumping forward to join the top 500 in band 401-500, up from band 601–800 last year. Meanwhile, newcomer Management & Science University (MSU) joins the rankings in band 801-1000. Elsewhere in Malaysia, three universities went down the ranking and 15 stayed in the same position.

The number of Thai universities increased from 19 last year to 20 this year, with Maejo University debuting strongly in band 1201-1500 – higher than eight other Thai universities.

The Philippines has six universities ranked this year, up from five last year.

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Diving into the Metrics

Malaysia has good scores in the research excellence and research influence metrics, and it is particularly successful in the international metrics.

The industry pillar, which measures the exchange between academia and industry, is Thailand’s strongest pillar; however, this has been declining over time relative to the rest of the world. Conversely, its research quality and research environment pillars have been improving since 2019.

While three out of the 31 Indonesian universities fell in the rankings, none improved their position. Twenty-one stayed in the same band and there were seven new entrants this year. Compared with last year, Indonesian universities, on average, improved by 0.6 points, most of which is driven by research influence and research excellence. Compared with the Asian average, Indonesian universities underperform in all metrics except two – studying abroad and international staff. Its worst metrics are patents, research strength, and research excellence.

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Philippine universities underperform the Asian average across most metrics except student-staff ratio, studying abroad, and international co-authorship. Its worst performing metric compared with the Asian average is research strength.

The industry pillars have been significantly growing in Singapore, along with research quality and research environment. However, the international pillar has been declining in the last five years relative to the rest of the world.

Across most of the ASEAN, a lack of qualified effective academics, who are equipped to lead universities there, has contributed to holding back higher education in those countries. The Higher Education Leadership Academy under Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education has identified priority areas of knowledge and competencies required for effective leadership in the ASEAN.

Phil Baty, Times Higher Education Chief Global Affairs Officer, said:

Singapore: “Singapore’s status as a world-class hub for higher education, research, and innovation talent is well and truly established, with Times Higher Education’s data now showing that the dynamic city-state has two world top-30 universities for the first time ever. It is a remarkable achievement and testament to strong support for universities and R&D as fundamental to the success of the nation and the centring of human talent as Singapore’s greatest resource.”

Malaysia: “Transformations are taking place in Malaysian higher education, including attracting more international students as part of its efforts to globally promote its universities, as well as growing research strength, which is paying dividends as a university breaks into the top 250 of the THE’s World University Rankings 2025. As Malaysia emerges as a strengthening global education hub, we expect to see further success in the world’s most comprehensive and rigorous university rankings in the years to come.”

Thailand: “The Thai government is supporting its universities to deliver maximum social and economic impact, and they are emerging as world leaders on the sustainable development goals, which bodes well for their international partnerships and their global academic standing. However, concerns have been raised about a ‘publish or perish’ mindset in Thai research, with too much focus on the quantity of research outputs over their quality. Our rankings methodology values quality over quantity, so we look forward to supporting the sector with data insights and practical support to strengthen the research base."

Indonesia: “It is fantastic to see the participation of Indonesia, which has 31 institutions represented, the most in the ASEAN region and who boast the most newcomers with seven new universities ranked.”

The world’s highest ranked higher education institution is the UK’s University of Oxford, which has maintained the top spot for a record nine years in a row. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States is the second highest ranked university in the world, and in third place is Harvard University.

The Top 10 Universities in the THE World University Rankings 2025

UniversityCountryRank 2025Rank 2024
University of OxfordUnited Kingdom11
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyUnited States23
Harvard UniversityUnited States34
Princeton UniversityUnited States46
University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom55
Stanford UniversityUnited States62
California Institute of TechnologyUnited States77
University of California, BerkeleyUnited States89
Imperial College LondonUnited Kingdom98
Yale UniversityUnited States1010

The 21st edition of the rankings has 2,092 universities ranked – up from 1,907 last year – from 115 countries and regions. Ranked universities significantly increased by 9.7 per cent this year, making it the biggest rise in the past five years, compared to a 6 per cent growth last year.

This year, 2,860 institutions submitted data, up 6.9 per cent on last year (last year it was 2,674), from 133 countries and territories. The remaining 768 institutions gained “reporter” status, which means, although they submitted data, they did not meet THE’s eligibility criteria to receive a ranking.

The THE World University Rankings started with 200 universities and now has more than 2,000, making it the most global and inclusive university ranking in the world.

The THE World University Rankings 2025 are the most comprehensive, rigorous, and balanced global rankings assessing research-intensive universities across 18 performance indicators, which are divided into five pillars covering their core missions of teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and internationalisation.

View the full World University Rankings 2025 results and see the World University Rankings 2025 methodology.

For more information, visit Times Higher Education or find us on X: @timeshighered, @THEworldunirank, or LinkedIn.

Top 100 higher education institutions in the THE World University Rankings 2025 – for the full list, email [email protected].

UniversityCountryRank 2025 Rank 2024 
University of OxfordUnited Kingdom11
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyUnited States23
Harvard UniversityUnited States34
Princeton UniversityUnited States46
University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom55
Stanford UniversityUnited States62
California Institute of TechnologyUnited States77
University of California, BerkeleyUnited States89
Imperial College LondonUnited Kingdom98
Yale UniversityUnited States1010
ETH ZurichSwitzerland1111
Tsinghua UniversityChina1212
Peking UniversityChina1314
The University of ChicagoUnited States=1413
University of PennsylvaniaUnited States=1416
Johns Hopkins UniversityUnited States1615
National University of SingaporeSingapore1719
Columbia UniversityUnited States=1817
University of California, Los AngelesUnited States=1818
Cornell UniversityUnited States2020
University of TorontoCanada2121
UCLUnited Kingdom=2222
University of Michigan-Ann ArborUnited States=2223
Carnegie Mellon UniversityUnited States2424
University of WashingtonUnited States2525
Technical University of MunichGermany26=30
Duke UniversityUnited States2726
The University of TokyoJapan2829
University of EdinburghUnited Kingdom29=30
Nanyang Technological University, SingaporeSingapore3032
Northwestern UniversityUnited States3128
École Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneSwitzerland3233
New York UniversityUnited States3327
University of California, San DiegoUnited States3434
University of Hong KongHong Kong3535
Fudan UniversityChina=3644
King’s College LondonUnited Kingdom=36=38
LMU MunichGermany38=38
University of MelbourneAustralia3937
Georgia Institute of TechnologyUnited States4036
University of British ColumbiaCanada4141
Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University ParisFrance4240
KU LeuvenBelgium4345
The Chinese University of Hong KongHong Kong4453
McGill UniversityCanada4549
University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUnited States4642
Universität HeidelbergGermany=4747
Zhejiang UniversityChina=47=55
Karolinska InstituteSweden4950
London School of Economics and Political ScienceUnited Kingdom=5046
University of Texas at AustinUnited States=5052
Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina5243
University of ManchesterUnited Kingdom=5351
University of Science and Technology of ChinaChina=5357
Kyoto UniversityJapan55=55
Delft University of TechnologyNetherlands=5648
University of Wisconsin-MadisonUnited States=5663
Brown UniversityUnited States=58=64
Monash UniversityAustralia=5854
University of AmsterdamNetherlands=5861
The University of SydneyAustralia6160
Seoul National UniversitySouth Korea=6262
University of California, DavisUnited States=6259
Université Paris-SaclayFrance6458
Nanjing UniversityChina6573
The Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyHong Kong66=64
University of California, Santa BarbaraUnited States=6769
Wageningen University & ResearchNetherlands=67=64
Washington University in St LouisUnited States6968
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States7072
Institut Polytechnique de ParisFrance7171
University of Southern CaliforniaUnited States7274
Australian National UniversityAustralia=7367
Leiden UniversityNetherlands=7377
Boston UniversityUnited States7578
Sorbonne UniversityFrance7675
The University of QueenslandAustralia7770
University of BristolUnited Kingdom7881
Purdue University West LafayetteUnited States7986
City University of Hong KongHong Kong=8082
University of GroningenNetherlands=8079
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)South Korea8283
UNSW SydneyAustralia8384
Humboldt University of BerlinGermany=84=87
The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong Kong=84=87
University of MassachusettsUnited States=84=123
University of GlasgowUnited Kingdom=87=87
University of MinnesotaUnited States=8785
University of BonnGermany8991
University of California, IrvineUnited States=90=92
Vanderbilt UniversityUnited States=90=92
RWTH Aachen UniversityGermany9290
Charité - Universitätsmedizin BerlinGermany=9394
University of BirminghamUnited Kingdom=93101
KTH Royal Institute of TechnologySweden=95=97
Lund UniversitySweden=95=106
University of CopenhagenDenmark97=103
Emory UniversityUnited States=98=106
University of SheffieldUnited Kingdom=98105
Penn State (Main campus)United States=100122
University of TübingenGermany=100=95

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For more information visit Times Higher Education or find us on X: @timeshighered @THEworldunirank or LinkedIn

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