KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian higher education sector continues to gain ground globally, according to the 12th edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject.
Taylor's University, once again, achieved the nation's top rank in Hospitality and Leisure Management, climbing to 16th position.
Overall, Malaysia emerged fifth for the number of university programmes ranked in Asia and sixth for the number of universities ranked, higher education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds revealed on Tuesday.
The 12th edition of the global rankings ranked 24 universities in the country – four more than last year – and 207 programmes.
Of the 207 programmes, 25 were first-time entries, 55 programmes climbed up the ranks, 49 programmes saw a decline while 78 programmes maintained their previous year's ranking.
Besides Taylor's, the other university that broke into the Top 20 ranks was UCSI University after its Performing Arts programme leaped from the 45th position last year to 19th this year.
Three universities appeared in the Top 30 ranks, which were Universiti Teknologi Petronas for its Petroleum Engineering programme (22nd in rank), Universiti Malaya (UM) for its Library and Information Management (28th) and International Islamic University Malaysia for its Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies (28th).
The latest rankings also featured 10 Malaysian university departments among the world's Top 50, compared to eight last year.
While UTP's Engineering – Mineral and Mining subject dropped out of the Top 50 ranks in this edition, three other universities entered this tier.
These include UM for Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies subject, as well as UCSI University and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) for their Hospitality and Leisure Management subject.
Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) dropped out of the top-50 in this edition for Engineering - Mineral & Mining, while three departments break into this tier: Universiti Malaya UM for Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies, UCSI University and Universiti Teknologi MARA - UiTM for Hospitality & Leisure Management.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Top 100 entries were 37 (compared to 31 in 2021) and the Top 200 were 101 (compared to 94 in 2021).
UM was the most-represented national university in the rankings with 37 entries, followed by 25 entries from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 24 entries from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), each, and 17 entries from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).
QS research director Ben Sowter said key stakeholders in Malaysian higher education sector have worked hard to improve its universities' international visibility and cross-border collaborations over the last five years.
"Such international collaborations are doing much to help provide high-quality, accredited tertiary education programs to Malaysian students, but they are also helping Malaysian institutions to cultivate stronger international recognition.
"However, to continue improving in our rankings and sustain their global reputation, it is imperative to ensure that high-quality Malaysian research is submitted to reputable journals, which will have much stronger, enduring positive effects on the sector's outcomes," he added.