Universiti Malaya (UM) has made a significant achievement by securing a position among the top 60 universities globally in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (QS-WUR) for 2025. This accomplishment marks a 5-place improvement from the previous year and a notable 10-place climb since the 2023 rankings. This new ranking positions UM in the top 4% of the 1,503 institutions evaluated by QS globally.
Moreover, UM maintains its status as the leading university among the 28 ranked Malaysian institutions and holds the third position in Southeast Asia. These milestones underscore UM’s continued excellence and progress in the global academic arena.
Universiti Malaya’s achievement is due, in large part, to its recognition amongst academics and employers. UM’s reputational indicators, i.e., Employer Reputation (34th, maintained), and Academic Reputation (62nd, up 6 places) highlight UM’s excellent reputation among the world’s employers and academics.
In addition, UM registered improvements in International Research Network (140th, up 8 places), Employment Outcomes (163rd, up 123 places), Student Faculty ratio (163rd, up 15 places), International Students (234th, up 20 places), and International Faculty (324th, up 22 places). Domestically, UM is the top Malaysian university for Employer Reputation, Academic Reputation, Employment Outcomes, International Research Network and Sustainability.
Professor Dato’ Seri Ir. Dr. Noor Azuan Abu Osman, the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaya, is pleased that the university's advancements in a majority of indicators point to its ability to compete with the finest global universities.
“The promising achievements as evident in the QS Rankings are the epitome of the university’s unwavering intent to advance its position as among the world’s best and will continue to ensure that both students and the academic and research fraternity are given the right capacity, support and intellectual dynamism and expertise in facing the increasingly stiff challenges of the future facing the higher education sector and humanity.
“This success of this QS World University Rankings is attributed to the result of the hard work of the entire campus community, especially the academic and research talent pool and our non-academic workforce that have been working with great tenacity in meeting our internally set Key Performance Indicators that are meant to produce world class quality and output in academic and research excellence.
“Under the three main tenets of community engagement, in industrialising the university and in internationalising the university’s global repute and standing, Universiti Malaya strives to elevate the university’s strategic and critical standing as the nation’s top flagbearer and trendsetter in academic and research eminence in charting new frontiers of breakthroughs and advancement for the world and humanity,” said Professor Dato’ Seri Ir. Dr. Noor Azuan.
Professor Dato’ Seri Ir. Dr. Noor Azuan added that critical strategic fields of the future including Artificial Intelligence, critical minerals, high technology scientific development and new medical research advancement are among the ten new key thrust areas being outlined in this year’s plan of strategic reform and transformation of the university.
He stressed on the importance of universities playing a new role as the solution provider to pressing challenges to humanity, from creating new vaccines for endemic diseases to tackling climate change and geopolitical conflicts, in bringing a new dawn of civilisational progress and prosperity.