KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — Malaysian universities made it to the world’s top 20 for two subjects in this year’s QS World University Rankings.

Taylor’s University placed 19th for Hospitality, which was Asia’s third best entry for this subject and Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) placed 20th for Petroleum Engineering, which was second best in Asia.

The 2024 instalment of the QS ranking by subject offers independent data on the performance of 240 programmes at 25 Malaysian universities. Of its total ranked programmes, 35 per cent (84) climbed the table, 13 per cent dropped and 36 per cent remained stable within their rank or band.

This gave Malaysian universities an overall improvement rate of 22 per cent — the third highest in Asia and sixth highest in the world, according to QS. Thirty-eight programmes ranked for the first time.

“Malaysian universities have seen remarkable progress and consistent achievements in the QS Rankings, with their rapid growth becoming a hallmark of the nation’s higher education landscape,” QS senior vice-president Ben Sowter said in a statement about Malaysian universities’ performance.

“Its overall improvement across subjects in this year’s ranking is a continuation of this trend. As the Malaysian higher education system expands and evolves, internationalisation and innovation are crucial for continued improvement and the enhancement of its economy,” he added.

Universiti Malaya (UM) was Malaysia’s most represented institution, with 38 ranked subjects, 21 of which placed in the top 100, including its highest ranked subject entry, library and information management in 27th place.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) was Malaysia’s most improved university, according to QS. It ranked for 26 subjects, 12 of which climbed and just one drop. Eleven courses remained stable, giving it an overall improvement rate of 42 per cent.

Its highest ranked entry is for Veterinary Science, which climbs six positions to place 40th.

Two new Malaysian entries placed in the world’s top 50 for their subject, including Taylor’s University, which debuted in the 21 to 50 ranking band for Marketing and UM, which placed 29th for its first-time ranked data science and artificial intelligence programme.

QS said it uses five key metrics to compile the subject rankings. The precise weighting of each metric varies by subject to reflect differing publication cultures across disciplines.

“For example, research performance, based on the analysis of the bibliometric database scopus/elsevier, is deemed to be a stronger indicator of institutional strength in medicine, where the discipline is highly reliant on dissemination of research, than it is in performing arts, where the discipline is more vocational in nature,” it said.

At the international level, US universities lead in 32 subjects, with Harvard University said to be the world’s strongest-performing institution, ranking first in 19 disciplines followed by MIT which leads in 11 subjects. United Kingdom institutions were top for 16 subjects, with the University of Oxford leading in four. It is followed by the University of Cambridge, UCL, Royal College of Art and the Royal College of Music which each top two subjects.

Still, the UK boasts the world’s highest concentration of programmes in the world’s top three, with 4 per cent placing in this tier.

China was the third most represented country in the rankings, behind the UK and the US.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/04/08/malaysian-higher-learning-system-among-most-improved-according-to-2024-qs-world-university-rankings/127938