The QS World University Rankings (QS WUR) 2026 has placed Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) among the top 10 best universities in ASEAN.
In this list, only two Indonesian universities are included: UGM and UI. The remaining universities are from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
UGM Vice Rector for Education and Teaching, Professor Wening Udasmoro, stated that UGM’s achievement of entering the top 10 best universities in Southeast Asia is the result of hard work.
This hard work comes from the management of faculties, departments, and study programs, as well as directorates, who continuously strive to improve academic quality, research publications, and alumni reputation.
“We are grateful that this collective hard work has brought UGM into the top 10 best universities in ASEAN,” Professor Udasmoro said on Monday (Jun. 23).
Professor Udasmoro mentioned that the QS WUR 2026 report ranks UGM 224th globally, up 15 places from its previous rank of 239.
“Since first entering the QS ranking in 2020 at position 254, UGM has consistently been among the top 10 best universities in ASEAN,” Professor Udasmoro stated.
According to Professor Udasmoro, one of the main factors driving UGM’s rank increase is the assessment indicators for academic reputation and employer reputation.
Academic reputation is assessed based on recognition from global academics for UGM’s quality of education.
UGM’s academic reputation is currently ranked 134th globally with a score of 70.2.
“I believe this is UGM’s best achievement since participating in QS WUR,” Professor Udasmoro noted.
Furthermore, UGM’s employer reputation also significantly influenced its rank increase, successfully placing UGM at rank 93 globally with a score of 84.7.
Professor Udasmoro said that employers highly value UGM graduates. Moreover, with support from the Gadjah Mada Alumni Family (KAGAMA), alumni can compete for jobs both domestically and internationally.
“We continuously strive to improve the quality of learning, so that UGM graduates can get jobs faster in their respective fields. Furthermore, 98 study programs at UGM have already received international certification and accreditation,” Professor Udasmoro explained.
Meanwhile, in the QS WUR sustainability assessment, UGM received a score of 66 and is ranked 381st globally.
This assessment is based on three aspects: environmental impact, social impact, and governance.
“Specifically for sustainability governance, UGM is even ranked first in ASEAN,” Professor Udasmoro said.
The top ten universities in Southeast Asia according to the QS WUR 2026 are the National University of Singapore (NUS); Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore; Universiti Malaya (UM), Malaysia; Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM); and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
Next are Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universitas Indonesia (UI), Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM).
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya