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A total of 29 Malaysian universities are featured in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027, up from 27 last year.
The rankings were released on Wednesday (30 September).
Universiti Malaya (UM) is the highest-ranked Malaysian institution at joint 194th.
It is the first Malaysian university to enter the global top 200.
UM was in the 201–250 band in the 2026 edition.
In the 2023 rankings, it was in the 351–400 band, Bernama reported.
THE ranked 2,297 universities from 118 countries and territories this year. UM said its position puts it in the top 8.5 per cent globally.
UM said its strongest areas are International Outlook and Research Quality. THE’s table shows it scored 90.4 and 71.6 in those pillars.
Top Five Malaysian Universities
Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) is second at joint 242nd. It shared the top spot with UM in the 201–250 band last year, according to EduAdvisor.
Sunway University is third at 283rd.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) is placed in the 301–325 band. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is in the 326–350 band.
Sunway scored 97.1 for International Outlook and 90.3 for Research Quality. UTP scored 95.8 for Industry.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) is in the 401–450 band.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) are both in the 451–500 band.
Management and Science University (MSU) is in the 501–550 band, while Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) is in the 551–600 band.
Other Malaysian universities are ranked in lower bands. They include Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA), MAHSA University, Multimedia University (MMU) and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR).
Oxford Comes First In Global Rankings Again
The University of Oxford is first for a record 11th consecutive year.
China’s Tsinghua University rises to 11th, overtaking ETH Zurich.
THE said Asia is ahead of continental Europe in the rankings for the first time., with the National University of Singapore (NUS) moving into the top 15.
There are three Asian universities in the top 15 for the first time.
READ MORE: Taylor’s Still Ranks Top 1% Of Private Universities In Southeast Asia
READ MORE: Malaysian Universities: The Big Fish In ASEAN’s Small Pond, Still Swimming Behind Singapore’s Sharks
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