Korean universities see improvement in THE World University Rankings
![Seoul National University holds its matriculation ceremony at its campus in Gwanak District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 28. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/09/482b5364-cd17-419b-980d-3e3f7157f3d5.jpg)
Seoul National University holds its matriculation ceremony at its campus in Gwanak District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 28. [NEWS1]
While Seoul National University again seized the title as the highest-ranked Korean institution in the 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, many other Korean universities saw their rankings rise.
Seoul National University was the highest ranked Korean university at 58th, according to the rankings released by THE on Thursday. The university rose from its previous year's rank of 62nd.
THE ranks universities based on five criteria: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook. Its 2026 rankings feature 2,191 universities across 115 countries and territories.
Seoul National University again received a full 100 points on the industry pillar, which evaluates a university's ability to help industries with innovations.
It earned 74.1 points on the teaching pillar, up by 0.4 points compared to the previous year, and 74.8 on the research environment pillar, up by 0.5 points. Points the university earned for the research quality pillar also rose, up 1.4 points to 77.6. International outlook was one pillar it fell compared to last year, down 1.4 points to 43.5.
KAIST followed at 70th as the second highest ranked Korean institution, up from the previous year's 82nd.
Yonsei University ranked 86th, jumping from 102nd place. Sungkyunkwan University closely followed at 87th, also rising from 102nd, as the two institutions were tied for last year's rankings.
Sungkyunkwan University attributes the increase in rankings to significant improvement in the research quality pillar, as it has been focusing on improving the quality of its international publications based on the Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI).
For research quality, the university received 83.4 points, up 4.1 points from the previous year.
"This achievement is the result of the university leadership’s strong commitment and support, as well as the active participation of all members of our community," said Yoo Ji-beom, president of Sungkyunkwan University. "We will continue to create an innovative educational and research environment to further establish ourselves as a global leader in higher education."
Pohang University of Science and Technology ranked 141st, up from the previous year's 151st.
Korea University came in 156th, being the last Korean university in the top 200. The university also jumped from last year's placement of 189th.
Korea had six institutions in THE World University Rankings' top 200, which is the same as last year's.
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology placed in the 201 to 250 range, maintaining its rankings. For world university rankings below 200, THE assigns a range rather than a specific number.
Hanyang University and Kyung Hee University both remained at the same rank, placed in the 251 to 300 range.
Sejong University was also placed in the 251 to 300 range, although the university fell from the 201 to 250 range the previous year.
Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology held its position in the 351 to 400 range. Chung-Ang University and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology both maintained their rankings in the 401 to 500 range. Ajou University was also assigned the 401 to 500 range, although it rose from the previous year's 501 to 600 range.
In the top 500, Korea had 14 institutions, compared to 13 for last year's ranking.
BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]
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