UMY Ranks Among Top 15 Islamic Universities in QS WUR 2027

The QS World University Rankings (QS WUR) has released its international higher education ranking results for 2027. The QS WUR 2027 rankings show a consistent upward trend for Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY). UMY is the only Muhammadiyah ’Aisyiyah higher education institution (PTMA) and Islamic university to be included in this global ranking.

Nationally, UMY is ranked 14th out of 20 Indonesian universities that made it into the QS WUR 2027. This achievement also cements UMY as the second-best private university nationally and the best Islamic campus in Indonesia. In the Special Region of Yogyakarta, three universities achieved global recognition, with UMY being the second-best university after Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM).

Over the last two years, UMY’s score has more than doubled from the 2025 edition. The largest score increases occurred in the International Research Network and Employment Outcomes indicators, each rising by 100 percent, while Employer Reputation rose by 83 percent.

UMY Rector Prof. Achmad Nurmandi cited several key factors behind the consistent rise in global ranking achievements. “The leadership is committed to improving the quality of learning, innovation and downstreaming of research, and impactful community service. This commitment is followed by the awareness and ability of the academic community to improve performance achievements to meet quality standards, both nationally and internationally,” Prof. Nurmandi stated.

Based on the QS WUR methodology, an institution must meet three main requirements to participate in the world rankings. First, it must be in the top 20 percent globally based on Academic Reputation. Second, it must have at least 100 Scopus-indexed articles in the last five years. Finally, the institution must already be registered and retained in the QS regional rankings.

Looking ahead, Nurmandi is targeting UMY to enter the world’s top 1,000 rankings. “The hope is for UMY to enter the ranks of the top 1000 universities in the world. To achieve this, we will continue to strengthen academic quality and alumni relevance to user needs. Collaboration with industry and global partners will continue to be enhanced,” he added.

Vice Rector for Quality, Reputation and Partnerships, Prof. Slamet Riyadi, echoed this sentiment. “This commitment to quality is supported by synergy between units and system integration so that the University can meet international standards amidst very tight global competition,” he explained.

Prof. Slamet Riyadi affirmed that this upward trend has a real impact on UMY’s reputation and visibility. In line with these achievements, UMY is now targeting an increase in the quantity and quality of international partnerships across other continents. “UMY consistently achieves a world reputation. This proves that PTMA can compete at the global level by implementing Islamic values,” Slamet said.

Head of UMY’s Global Planning and Reputation Agency, Mega Hidayati, noted that there has been a decrease in the number of Indonesian universities achieving a QS WUR ranking. Whereas last year 26 Indonesian universities penetrated the QS WUR, now only 20 institutions have achieved a ranking. “In the QS WUR 2027 edition, out of a total of 8,808 institutions from 106 countries evaluated, only 1,504 or about 17 percent successfully entered the official ranking. This proves that UMY is consistently globally competitive,” Mega concluded.