Guess Which Five Malaysian Universities Are Ranked In The World’s Top 300 Universities?

Malaysian academicians and universities usually wait in anticipation this time around and by the looks of it, they have something to shout about this year.

Five out of nine Malaysian universities listed in the rankings made it to the top 300 ranking. That’s a vast improvement compared to last year when we only had three Malaysian universities that made the top 300.

The top five Malaysian universities are – University of Malaya (UM) placed 114^th, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) placed 229^th, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) placed 230^th, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) placed 253^rd, and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) placed 264^th.

UM remains Malaysia’s top academic institution by moving up 19 spots this year while UKM made the biggest jump from 302^nd to 230^th.

The other four universities that also made the list are Universiti Teknologi Petronas, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

According to QS research director Ben Sowter, seven Malaysian universities improved their score for QS’s Academic Reputation metric, while another eight improved their score for QS’s Employer Reputation metric.

“These results indicate that Malaysian universities are, in general, improving their reputation among both the global academic community and the world’s employers,” Sowter told the New Straits Times in an interview.

So, who took the top spot this year?

It’s none other than Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) -- for the sixth consecutive year! Congrats!