Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) has made history by entering the top 250 of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for the first time.
In the 2025 edition, UTP surged from last year’s 301-350 bracket to 201-250, becoming Malaysia’s highest-ranked university.
This year’s ranking evaluated 2,092 universities globally.
Following UTP, the Universiti Malaya (UM) remains Malaysia’s second-highest-ranked university, positioned between 251-300.
Sunway University named Malaysia’s best private university
Sunway University also demonstrated significant progress, rising from the 601-800 bracket last year to 401-500, making it Malaysia’s best-performing private university.
Other Malaysian institutions within the top 500 include the National University of Malaysia (UKM), University of Science Malaysia (USM), University of Technology Malaysia (UTM), and Northern University of Malaysia (UUM).
MSU made its debut
Times Higher Education highlighted Malaysia’s improvements in research excellence and internationalization as major factors behind the ranking increase.
Phil Baty, Times Higher Education chief global affairs officer, said Malaysia is emerging as a “strengthening global education hub”, and expects to see the country achieving further success in this global ranking.
In the latest rankings, four of Malaysia’s 23 listed universities improved, three dropped, and fifteen remained unchanged.
Additionally, Management and Science University (MSU) made its debut in the rankings, placing in the 801-1000 range.
Top 10 universities in the world
Globally, the top ten universities are:
- University of Oxford
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Harvard University
- Princeton University
- University of Cambridge
- Stanford University
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
- University of California, Berkeley
- Imperial College London
- Yale University.
THE noted a decline in the global reputation of UK and US universities, attributing it to financial challenges in UK institutions.
Key issues include insufficient funding, stagnant domestic tuition fees, and a decline in international student enrollment, all contributing to the ongoing financial crisis in the UK’s higher education sector.
For the full world university rankings list, click here.
