NUS retains 8th spot, NTU climbs to 12th in latest global university rankings

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has retained its spot in the top 10 in a global ranking of institutions, with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) hot on its heels.

- Gabrielle Chan

NUS kept its eighth place in the latest Britain-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2026, released on June 19, while NTU rose three places to 12th, building on its 11-position jump the year before.

This year's ranking, the 22nd edition, covers 1,500 universities across 106 countries and territories. NUS stood out as the highest-ranked Asian university, having been the first in Asia to break into the global top 10.

The leaderboard was dominated by universities from the US and Britain, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in first place for the 14th consecutive year, followed by Imperial College London retaining second place.

Stanford University climbed three positions to take third place, while the University of Oxford and Harvard University both dropped one place to rank fourth and fifth respectively.

The QS rankings are based on nine indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, international student ratio, international research network, employment outcomes and sustainability.