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The QS Asia University Rankings 2027 show a strong presence of Singaporean and Malaysian institutions among Southeast Asia’s top 10 universities.
The rankings highlight the contrasting strengths of Indian and Southeast Asian institutions. (Pexels/Representative image)
India’s premier institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), enjoy a strong reputation among global employers. However, the QS Asia University Rankings 2027 reveal that they lag behind several universities in Singapore and Malaysia on certain key parameters, particularly international student and faculty representation and faculty-student ratios.
The rankings highlight the contrasting strengths of Indian and Southeast Asian institutions. While universities in Singapore and Malaysia perform strongly in attracting international students and maintaining favourable faculty-student ratios, India’s leading institutions, including IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras and IISc Bengaluru, score well on employer reputation and the proportion of faculty members holding PhD degrees.
According to QS data, the challenge for India’s top institutions extends beyond improving their positions in global rankings. Strengthening international exposure, attracting overseas faculty and improving faculty-student ratios could also help them become more competitive globally.
Singapore and Malaysia dominate Southeast Asia’s top 10
The QS Asia University Rankings 2027 show a strong presence of Singaporean and Malaysian institutions among Southeast Asia’s top 10 universities.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) leads the regional list, followed by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in second place. Malaysia’s Universiti Malaya ranks third, followed by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia at fourth, Universiti Putra Malaysia at fifth and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia at sixth.
Universiti Sains Malaysia occupies the seventh position, while Taylor’s University, UCSI University and Sunway University complete the top 10 at eighth, ninth and tenth positions, respectively.
In the overall Asia rankings, NUS has secured the sixth position, compared with third place in the previous edition. NTU has also slipped from third to eighth place. Universiti Malaya ranks joint 17th in Asia.
Faculty-student ratio
The faculty-student ratio is one of the important parameters considered in the QS rankings. It assesses the availability of academic staff in relation to the student population and offers an indication of the academic support available to students.
Among Southeast Asia’s top 10 universities, UCSI University records the highest score on this indicator, with 99.4 points out of 100. Nanyang Technological University follows with 97.1 points, while NUS scores 94.9.
Universiti Putra Malaysia also performs well with 93.7 points. Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya and Universiti Sains Malaysia scored 82.5 and 82.9, respectively.
These scores reflect the institutions’ performance on the QS faculty-student ratio indicator and should not be interpreted as the actual number of students assigned to each teacher.
Employer reputation
Employer reputation is another important parameter in the QS rankings. It reflects how employers perceive graduates from different universities and the reputation these institutions enjoy among companies.
NUS, NTU and Universiti Malaya receive a perfect score of 100 on this indicator. Taylor’s University follows closely with 99.3 points, while Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia scores 98.1.
Universiti Sains Malaysia secures 98.7 points, followed by Universiti Putra Malaysia with 97.4 and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia with 97.1. UCSI University and Sunway University scores 94.4 and 89.3, respectively.
However, employer reputation scores should not be confused with placement rates, salary packages or guarantees of employment. They reflect employers’ perceptions of graduates and institutions.
PhD-qualified faculty
The proportion of faculty members holding PhD degrees is another indicator used to assess the academic strength of universities.
Among Southeast Asia’s top 10 institutions, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia achieve perfect scores of 100 on this parameter. Taylor’s University records the lowest score among the group, at 59.4.
The indicator reflects the proportion of academic staff with doctoral qualifications and offers insights into the academic and research capabilities of an institution.
IIT Delhi leads India’s top five institutions
Among India’s leading institutions featured in the QS Asia Rankings 2027, IIT Delhi secures the highest position, ranking 66th in Asia. IISc Bengaluru follows at 79th, while IIT Bombay, IIT Madras and IIT Kharagpur occupy the 83rd, 85th and 90th positions, respectively.
Although all five institutions feature among Asia’s top 100, their performance on the faculty-student ratio indicator highlights a considerable gap compared with leading Southeast Asian universities.
IIT Delhi scores 36 points on this parameter, while IISc Bengaluru records 54.1. IIT Bombay scores 30.9, IIT Madras 24.5 and IIT Kharagpur 19.9.
In comparison, the scores of Southeast Asia’s top 10 universities range from 82.5 to 99.4, indicating a substantial difference between the two groups.
The findings suggest that while India’s premier institutions remain competitive in areas such as employer reputation and faculty qualifications, improving faculty-student ratios and international representation could be important steps towards strengthening their standing in Asia.
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Ask News18India’s premier institutions like IIT Delhi, IISc Bengaluru, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, and IIT Kharagpur all featured within Asia’s top 100, with IIT Delhi leading India at the 66th position. However, none of India’s institutions secured a spot in the top 50 for the second consecutive year.
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November 12, 2026, 10:56 IST
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