Malaysian universities improve their QS rankings in sustainability
According to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025, Malaysian universities are making strides in areas of sustainability, including social impact, environmental impact, and governance.
The average overall score of the country’s 29 ranked universities is 52.5, putting it in 28th place, ahead of Japan, the Philippines, and Iceland.
In the rankings, nine of the 29 ranked universities made progress, and three received their first ranking.
In the 2025 rankings, Malaysian institutions have risen in two categories: employability and outcomes, and health and well-being. Some institutions have also increased their Impact of Education rankings.
Malaysia also has seven of Asia’s top 100 universities for sustainability.
According to QS’s vice president, Malaysian universities have achieved remarkable scores in the Environmental Sustainability and Knowledge Exchange categories this year.
“The Asian higher education system is gradually improving in global rankings, and Malaysia is no exception,” he said in a press statement on Tuesday (December 10).
He also stated that institutions should focus on improving knowledge exchange and equality, as well as governance, in the coming year.
Universiti Malaya is the top-ranked local institution, rising from 132nd to 115th worldwide.
It is Malaysia’s top-ranked institution for sustainability, with remarkable rankings in Knowledge Exchange (72nd), Employability and Outcomes (113th), and Environmental Sustainability (46th).
It is the only Malaysian institution in the top 100 for Environmental Impact, ranking 96 this year. Its high Knowledge Exchange rank (ninth) also contributed to its placement among the top 30 countries in the world.
The top five universities in the country are Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (245th), Universiti Sains Malaysia (251st), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (328th), and Universiti Putra Malaysia (333rd).
In the meantime, UCSI University, the top private university, ranks sixth in the world and 472nd globally for environmental sustainability.
Sunway University comes in at 480th, followed by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (554th), Taylor’s University (557th), and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (559th).
Universiti Teknologi Mara, ranked 607th, rounds out the top ten Malaysian institutions.
The University of Toronto in Canada leads the chart, followed by ETH Zurich in Switzerland, Lund University in Sweden, and the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) in joint third.
The third edition of the rankings includes nearly 1,740 universities from 107 nations and territories.
According to the most recent QS International Students Survey, nine out of ten students believe sustainability is important, and 40% actively research universities’ sustainability strategies during the application process.
“This underscores the urgency for sustainability to remain at the forefront of institutional agendas,” she pointed out.