GEORGE TOWN: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has gained entry into the list of top 350 universities globally, rising to the 326–350 band in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027.
Its vice-chancellor Datuk Seri Prof Dr Abdul Rahman Mohamed said USM is among 2,297 universities listed in the latest edition, placing it within approximately the top 15% of ranked universities worldwide.
“The achievement marks further progress for a Malaysian research university in a competitive global landscape, with higher scores across all five THE assessment pillars,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
The university had been placed in the 601–800 band from 2020 to 2023 before moving up to 401–500 from 2024 to 2026.
USM is the fifth-highest-ranked Malaysian university in the 2027 edition, behind Universiti Malaya (UM) at 194th, Universiti Teknologi Petronas at 242nd, Sunway University at 283rd and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in the 301–325 band.
UM became the first Malaysian university to enter the world’s top 200, while 29 Malaysian universities were ranked this year, two more than in the previous edition.
International Outlook remained USM’s strongest pillar, with its score rising to 80.4 from 76.5 in the previous edition.
Abdul Rahman said the result reflected “the university’s international profile through its students and staff, alongside research undertaken with academic partners across countries”.
Industry engagement recorded the biggest improvement among the five pillars, with USM’s Industry score rising 10.6 points to 75.1.
“The result reinforces knowledge transfer as a strength of the university, connecting research with innovation and technological development,” he said.
Research quality remained an important foundation of USM’s performance, with a score of 66.2.
He added that the pillar assessed “how the university’s research is cited and influences the development of knowledge within the global academic community”.
Improvements in teaching and research environment further contributed to the result, reflecting progress in indicators covering the university’s learning environment and research capacity.
He also said the recognition brought “a responsibility to ensure that academic excellence benefits society”.
“The university’s focus remains on education that develops talent and research that helps address national and global challenges.”
Abdul Rahman attributed the achievement to USM’s academics, researchers, staff and students, as well as industry and community partners.
He added that USM would continue to focus on educational quality, research excellence and ensuring that knowledge benefits society.
In June, the university rose six places to 128th in the QS World University Rankings 2027, making it the second-highest ranked Malaysian university, while in August it climbed 149 places to 581st globally and first in Malaysia in the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2026.
USM also ranked fifth globally, first in Asia and first in Malaysia in the Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026.
