PETALING JAYA: Universiti Malaya (UM) is the country's most represented institution in the latest edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by subject.
Malaysia's premier institution saw 38 of its subjects ranked, with 21 of them appearing in the top 100 globally.
This includes its highest-ranked subject entry, Library and Information Management in 27th place.
UM is also home to Malaysia's two most improved subject entries. It climbed 29 places for Pharmacy to 72nd due to gains in Academic and Employer Reputation.
Meanwhile, its Economics programme climbed into the top 100, gaining 18 positions to place 93rd due to improvements in research metrics, primarily Citations per Paper.
The 2024 instalment of the ranking also sees Malaysian universities in the world's top 20 for two subjects, with Taylor's University becoming Asia's third-best entry for Hospitality (19th) and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) being the second best in Asia for Petroleum Engineering (20th).
The ranking offers independent data on the performance of 240 programmes at 25 Malaysian universities.
Overall, Malaysia's performance rate is the third-highest in Asia and the sixth-highest in the world.
Of its total ranked programmes, 84 improved their ranking, 31 dropped and 87 remained stable within their rank or band, giving it an overall improvement rate of 22%.
Thirty-eight programmes also rank for the first time with two programmes debuting in the top 50 – Taylor's University's Marketing programme, which debuts in the 21-50 band and UM, which ranked 29th for its Data Science and Artificial Intelligence programme.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is Malaysia's most improved university. It ranks for 26 subjects, 12 of which climbed and only one dropped while eleven remained stable, giving it an overall improvement rate of 42%. Its highest-ranked entry is for Veterinary Science, which climbed six positions to place 40th.
Management and Science University (MSU) rose from 46th last year to 29th for Hospitality and Leisure Management.
In a statement on Wednesday (April 10), QS senior vice-president Ben Sowter said universities experiencing upward mobility have benefited from sustained, targeted investment, highlighting the importance of government support.
"Meanwhile, the development of partnerships with industry correlates with improved performance in employment and research," he added.
The full rankings can be found at https://www.topuniversities.com/subject-rankings/2024.
