The National University of Singapore (NUS) retained its spot as the eighth-best global university, while Nanyang Technological University (NTU) rose to 15th place.

In the previous edition of the rankings, released in 2023 by higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), NUS became the first university from Asia to be in the top 10, while NTU was ranked 26th.

Top five universities

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) continued to rank first in this year's QS rankings, retaining its spot on top for the 13th consecutive year.

Imperial College London and University of Oxford came in second and third respectively.

Harvard University and University of Cambridge took fourth and fifth place respectively.

What are the metrics

The latest Britain-based QS World University Rankings 2025, released on Jun. 5, 2024, uses metrics including academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, and international student ratio.

Three new metrics — sustainability, employment outcomes, and international research network — were added to the methodology in 2023.

Here are the statistics for NUS:

NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye attributed NUS’ strong performance to the collective achievement of the University’s outstanding faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

He said, "As a leading global university, NUS continues to push the boundaries in education, research, innovation and enterprise, challenging students to learn and unlearn, grow in adaptability and resilience, and discover a world beyond themselves.”

Here are the statistics for NTU:

NTU President Professor Ho Teck Hua said, “To be ranked in the top 15 shows that despite being a young university, NTU is internationally competitive. We are elated to see that the university has improved in four dimensions, namely employer reputation, employment outcome, sustainability, and international research network."

Both universities noted their considerable progress in the sustainability indicator and their commitment to shaping a sustainable future.

Other Singapore universities in the rankings

Singapore Management University (SMU) is now placed 585th, compared to its previous year's ranking at 545th.

Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) fell from 429th place to 440th in the new ranking.

Top image via NUS Facebook and NTU website