Top Malaysian & Global Universities – QS World University Rankings® 2021

QS World University Rankings®
QS World University Rankings 2021 – A Top Guide to Help Malaysian Students Choose the Best
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The annual QS World University Rankings have been announced for 2021 – with Universiti Malaya moving up the list to number 59. In addition, Taylor’s University has broken into the top 400 at number 379 on the QS World University Rankings, making it the No.1 private university in Malaysia and South-East Asia with an outstanding performance of having climbed 135 spots from the previous year.
This Guide can be used by Malaysian students planning to choose a top university for their further studies. Furthermore, from the rankings of Malaysian public and private universities students can also obtain a top ranked degree in Malaysia.
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QS World University Rankings

Kenneth, Interior Design at Taylor’s University
Malaysian students wanting to apply to the best universities locally or globally will no doubt look to the list produced by QS World University Rankings, rating the best universities in the world for 2021.
This year’s QS World University Rankings reveals the top 1,000 universities from around the world, covering 80 different locations. There are 47 new entrants in this year’s top 1,000 while over 5,500 universities were evaluated and considered for inclusion.
Topping the Quacquarelli Symonds list is Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with Stanford University and Harvard University coming in second and third.
While the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) continues its record-breaking streak at number one – the ninth year in a row it’s achieved this feat – the big story this year is the impressive gains made by Asian universities. 26 institutions from the continent now feature in the global top 100, more than ever before.
Other institutions featured in the top 10 include the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, along with California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Our neighbouring country’s top university just missed out on a top 10 position, the National University of Singapore (NUS) holds the eleventh position which is the highest ranking Asian university on the list. In addition, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) is a close with a 13th ranking.
Locally, the highest ranking university in Malaysia is Universiti Malaya at 59th, climbing 11 places from last year. Joining Universiti Malaya in the the top 200 are Universiti Putra Malaysia (132), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (141), Universiti Sains Malaysia (142) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (187), all of which also have moved up the ladder from last year’s ranking.
The indicators used in the ranking system include academic reputation, employer reputation, student to faculty ratio, international student and faculty ratios and citations per faculty to give each school its overall score.
Top 50 Universities – QS World University Rankings® 2021
# RANK | UNIVERSITY | LOCATION |
1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | United States |
2 | Stanford University | United States |
3 | Harvard University | United States |
4 | California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | United States |
5 | University of Oxford | United Kingdom |
6 | ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology | Switzerland |
7 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom |
8 | Imperial College London | United Kingdom |
9 | University of Chicago | United States |
10 | UCL | United Kingdom |
11 | National University of Singapore (NUS) | Singapore |
12 | Princeton University | United States |
13 | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) | Singapore |
14 | EPFL | Switzerland |
15 | Tsinghua University | China (Mainland) |
16 | University of Pennsylvania | United States |
17 | Yale University | United States |
18 | Cornell University | United States |
19 | Columbia University | United States |
20 | The University of Edinburgh | United Kingdom |
21 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | United States |
22 | The University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong SAR |
23 | Peking University | China (Mainland) |
24 | The University of TokyoMore | Japan |
=25 | Johns Hopkins University | United States |
# RANK | UNIVERSITY | LOCATION |
=25 | University of Toronto | Canada |
=27 | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | Hong Kong SAR |
=27 | The University of Manchester | United Kingdom |
29 | Northwestern University | United States |
30 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | United States |
=31 | The Australian National University | Australia |
=31 | King’s College London | United Kingdom |
=31 | McGill University | Canada |
34 | Fudan University | China (Mainland) |
35 | New York University (NYU) | United States |
36 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | United States |
37 | Seoul National University | South Korea |
38 | Kyoto University | Japan |
39 | KAIST – Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology | South Korea |
40 | The University of Sydney | Australia |
41 | The University of Melbourne | Australia |
42 | Duke University | United States |
43 | The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) | Hong Kong SAR |
44 | The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) | Australia |
45 | University of British Columbia | Canada |
46 | The University of Queensland | Australia |
47 | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | China (Mainland) |
48 | City University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong SAR |
49 | The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) | United Kingdom |
50 | Technical University of Munich | Germany |
Top Malaysian Universities in the QS World University Rankings® 2021

Darren, Finance & Investment Graduate from UCSI University
For the first time ever, all five Malaysian research universities have been ranked among the world’s top 200 in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) 2021 World University Rankings.
In Malaysia, a total of 20 universities were ranked this year with Universiti Malaya moving up to 59th position, improving 11 places and recording its highest ever rank. Most of the other universities showed a marked improvement in their rankings from the previous year.
Top Ranked Malaysian Public Universities (IPTA)
Universiti Malaya (UM) was ranked at 59th place, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) at 132nd, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia at 141st, Universiti Sains Malaysia at 142nd and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia at 187th.
UM made an 11-spot leap from the 70th placing last year with a 70.1 overall score while UPM improved from its 160th position to 141st.
Top Ranked Malaysian Private Universities (IPTS)

Hazel Hoh, Foundation in Arts (Communication)
Three private universities – Taylor’s University, UCSI University and Universiti Teknologi Petronas – have been listed as the top 500 universities in the world.
The best performer among the private universities is Taylor’s university at 379, rising from the 511-520 band in last year’s ranking. UCSI is the next highest ranked private university in Malaysia at 391.
Top 8 Private Universities in Malaysia
- Taylor’s University
- UCSI University
- Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)
- Management and Science University (MSU)
- Sunway University
- Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN)
- Multimedia University (MMU)
- Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)
Top Universities in Malaysia According to the QS World University Rankings® 2021
2021 Ranking | 2020 Ranking | 2019 Ranking | University |
---|---|---|---|
59 | 70 | 87 | Universiti Malaya (UM) |
132 | 159 | 202 | Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) |
141 | 160 | 184 | Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) |
142 | 165 | 207 | Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) |
=187 | 217 | 228 | Universiti Teknologi Malaysia |
379 | 511-520 | 601-650 | Taylor’s University |
391 | 442 | 481 | UCSI University |
=439 | 482 | 521-530 | Universiti Teknologi Petronas (Petronas) |
531-540 | 591-600 | 601-650 | Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) |
551-560 | 541-550 | – | Management and Science University |
601-650 | 651-700 | 651-700 | International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) |
651-700 | 651-700 | 751-800 | Universiti Teknologi MARA – UiTM |
701-750 | 751-800 | – | Sunway University |
701-750 | 801-1000 | 701-750 | Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) |
751-800 | 751-800 | – | Universiti Malaysia Pahang |
801-1000 | 801-1000 | 801-1000 | Multimedia University (MMU) |
801-1000 | 801-1000 | – | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) |
801-1000 | 801-1000 | – | Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) |
801-1000 | 701-750 | – | Universiti Malaysia Perlis |
801-1000 | 801-1000 | – | Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) |