Singapore’s universities put up strong showing overall, with SUTD recording the biggest jump among local institutions
Singapore’s universities have once again made its mark on the global stage, with four local institutions improving or maintaining strong positions in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.
While the National University of Singapore (NUS) slipped two places to 10th globally, it remains Asia’s highest-ranked university and the region’s only representative in the global top 10.
Meanwhile, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) held steady at 12th, while the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Singapore Management University (SMU) registered significant leaps in this year’s rankings.
NUS remains Asia’s top university despite slipping to 10th
Released on Thursday (18 June), the latest QS World University Rankings assessed more than 1,500 universities across 106 countries and territories using indicators such as academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty student ratio, international student ratio, employment outcomes, and sustainability.
Source: NUS
NUS dropped from eighth to 10th place this year but retained its position as Asia’s top-ranked university.
Singapore also remains one of only four countries with a university in the global top 10, alongside the United Kingdom, the United States, and Switzerland.
NTU, meanwhile, maintained its 12th-place ranking for the second consecutive year.
SUTD jumps 253 places, SMU returns to global top 500
Beyond NUS and NTU, Singapore’s younger universities recorded some of the biggest improvements in this year’s rankings.
Source: SUTD
SUTD climbed an impressive 253 places to 266th, making it the most improved local university in the 2026 edition.
On the other hand, SMU re-entered the world’s top 500 universities for the first time since 2020, rising 100 places to 411th.
The improvements mean all four of Singapore’s publicly funded autonomous universities featured in the global rankings either strengthened or maintained their overall standing.
MIT retains global crown for 15th straight year
Globally, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) held on to the top spot for the 15th consecutive year.
Source: MIT News
Imperial College London and Stanford University are tied in second, after the US institution one-upped its ranking from the previous year.
The rest of the top 10 comprised the University of Oxford, Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, NUS, University College London (UCL) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
How the QS rankings are determined
The annual QS rankings place the greatest emphasis on academic reputation (30%), citations per faculty (20%) and employer reputation (15%).
Other indicators include faculty student ratio, international faculty ratio, international student ratio, international research network, employment outcomes, and sustainability.
Together, these metrics aim to measure not only research excellence and teaching quality, but also graduate employability and global engagement.
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Featured image adapted from NUS and NTU.Â
