NUS retains 8th spot, NTU rises from 15th to 12th in latest global university rankings

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has retained its spot as the eighth-best global university, while Nanyang Technological University (NTU) rose to 12th place.

In the previous 2025 edition of the rankings, released in 2024 by higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), NTU was ranked 15th.

NUS is also the highest-ranked Asian university on the list.

Top five universities

The number one university on the list is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S, marking its 14th consecutive year as the top university.

In second place is Imperial College London, and in third place is Stanford University.

The University of Oxford and Harvard University took fourth and fifth place, respectively.

What are the metrics

In its 2026 edition, the QS ranking measures over 1,500 universities in over 100 locations around the world.

The latest Britain-based QS World University Rankings 2026, released on Jun. 19, uses the following metrics:

• Academic reputation
• Citations per faculty
• Employment outcomes
• Employer reputation
• Faculty student ratio
• International faculty ratio
• International research network
• International student diversity
• International student ratio
• Sustainability

Here are the statistics for NUS:

NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye credited the achievement to NUS's "unwavering commitment to excellence by its talented students, faculty and alumni," and said:

“We are particularly heartened to be ranked amongst the best in Asia for academic reputation, and to have made notable advances in employer reputation and international research partnerships.

This builds on the momentum of our efforts where the improvements signal growing confidence in our graduates, as well as the expanding impact of our research network around the world.”

Here are the statistics for NTU:

NTU President Professor Ho Teck Hua said:

"NTU's strong showing in this year's QS rankings reflects its constant efforts to reimagine itself amidst a rapidly changing world.

For example, last year we launched the new College of Computing and Data Science to better prepare our students for the AI Revolution. This year, we launched the Honours College, where we empower students to harness technology for the good of society.”

Other Singapore universities in the rankings

Singapore Management University (SMU) secured the 511th spot, climbing 74 places after previously ranking 585th.

Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), however, fell from its previous 440th place to 519, falling 79 places.

Read the QS World University Rankings 2026 list here.

Top image from @Karana Putra Nugraha and @Takehanx on Google Maps.