World University Rankings

QS World University Rankings
Overview

The QS World University Rankings, conducted by the UK-based organization Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), is one of the most influential university ranking systems worldwide. Since 1994, it has evaluated universities around the world and published annual rankings, and since 2010 it has expanded its evaluations to include both Asia and the global arena.

Key Features

Rankings are also published by academic subject. QS compiles subject-level rankings for around 1,000 universities. In some non-mainstream subjects, rankings are determined solely by Academic Reputation and Employer Reputation. In such cases, Academic Reputation carries a weight of 90% and Employer Reputation 10%.

Academic Reputation is based on a survey of approximately 94,000 academics worldwide, while Employer Reputation is based on a survey of approximately 45,000 employers globally. Objective indicators include Citations per Paper and the H-index (author-level metric).

In 2024, the evaluation indicators were significantly revised in line with global higher-education trends—one of the most substantial changes in nearly two decades since QS began conducting the rankings. The QS World University Rankings are among the most widely recognized university ranking systems globally and are referenced by governments and companies. For example, the UK issues work visas to graduates of top-ranked universities; graduates from institutions that place within the top 50 in at least two of the three major ranking systems (QS, ARWU, THE) are eligible for this benefit. According to the UK government, eligible universities include those in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Japan, China, and Singapore.

Criticism

Because reputation indicators—based on surveys—account for 45% of the total score, subjective factors can significantly influence the results. With reputation making up nearly half of the evaluation, some universities have increased efforts to mobilize alumni and other networks to influence survey responses, and rankings for such institutions may rise accordingly. In some cases, attempts to manipulate the survey or engage in financial lobbying were discovered, and penalties were imposed.

There are also criticisms that some Korean universities improved their QS rankings “by dozens to hundreds of places” through lobbying such as distributing financial incentives. In analyses of QS publication advertisements, Korean university ads accounted for 9 out of 67 ads (13.4%), which is considered relatively high. As a result, Korean universities have been criticized as being used as a “cash cow” in the QS ranking business.

QS is not a non-profit organization. In other words, university rankings can function as a revenue-generating business for ranking agencies. Unlike rankings that rely solely on quantitative academic indicators, QS is commercially designed in ways that can allow universities to improve their positions through “tailored responses.” QS publishes various ranking categories where institutional “customized 대응” is possible, and then offers paid seminars and consulting services linked to ranking improvement strategies, creating additional revenue streams.

Participation Status in the QS World University Rankings
Participation Status in the QS World University Rankings
Category 2024 2025 2026
Ranked Universities 1,499 1,503 1,504
Number of Countries 104 106 106
Newly Participating Universities 83 21 112
Number of Korean Universities 43 43 43
QS World University Rankings Indicators
QS World University Rankings Indicators
Category Sub-Indicator Category Sub-Indicator
Research (55%) Academic Reputation (30%) Employment (20%) Employer Reputation (15%)
International Research Network (5%) Employment Outcomes (5%)
Citations per Faculty (20%) Internationalization (10%) International Faculty Ratio (5%)
Learning Experience (10%) Faculty/Student Ratio (10%) International Student Ratio (5%)
Sustainability [QS Sustainability Evaluation] (5%) Total Score 100%
2026 QS World University Rankings (Overall)
No. University Institution Type Region World Ranking Korea Ranking
2024 2025 2026 Change 2024 2025 2026 Change
1 SNU National University Corporation Seoul 41 31 38 ▼7 1 1 1 =
2 Yonsei Private Seoul 76 56 50 ▲ 6 3 3 2 ▲1
3 Korea Univ. Private Seoul 79 67 61 ▲6 4 4 3 ▲1
4 POSTECH Private Pohang 100 98 102 ▼4 5 5 4 ▲1
5 SKKU Private Seoul 145 123 126 ▼3 6 6 5 ▲1
6 Hanyang Private Seoul 164 162 159 ▲ 3 7 7 6 ▲1
7 UNIST Special Act Corporation Ulsan 266 280 310 ▼30 8 8 7 ▲1
8 Kyung Hee Private Seoul 332 328 331 ▼3 11 10 8 ▲2
9 DGIST Special Act Corporation Daegu 307 326 370 ▼44 11 10 9 ▲1
10 GIST Special Act Corporation Gwangju 328 359 385 ▼26 10 10 10 =
11 Sejong Univ. Private Seoul 436 396 392 ▲4 12 12 11 ▲1
12 PNU National Busan 611-620 524 473 ▲ 51 13 13 12 ▲1
13 Chung-Ang Private Seoul 494 489 479 ▲ 10 13 13 13 =
14 Ewha Private Seoul 498 511 504 ▲ 7 14 14 14 =
15 KNU National Daegu 520 516 519 ▼3 16 15 15 =
16 Sogang Private Seoul 509 576 558 ▲18 18 16 16 =
17 Ajou Private Gyeonggi 631-640 631-640 563 ▲68 19 18 17 ▲1
18 Dongguk Private Seoul 671-680 701-710 618 ▲83 20 22 18 ▲4
19 Inha Private Incheon 691-700 631-640 643 ▼12 21 18 19 ▼1
20 Konkuk Private Seoul 801-850 721-730 654 ▲67 25 23 20 ▲3
21 HUFS Private Seoul 575 651-660 680 ▼29 17 20 21 ▼1
22 JBNU National Jeonbuk 721-730 681-690 701-710 ▼20 22 21 22 ▼1
23 CUK Private Gyeonggi 781-790 801-850 741-750 ▲60 24 24 23 ▲1
24 Ulsan Univ. Private Ulsan 751-760 801-850 801-850 = 23 24 24 =
25 CNU National Daejeon 851-900 851-900 851-900 = 26 26 25 ▲1
26 UOS Public Seoul 951-1000 1001-1200 851-900 ▲150 30 30 26 ▲4
27 JNU National Gwangju 851-900 851-900 901-950 ▼50 27 26 27 ▼1
28 Yeungnam Private Gyeongbuk 951-1000 951-1000 901-950 ▲50 30 28 28 =
29 CBNU National Chungbuk 1001-1200 1001-1200 1001-1200 = 32 30 29 ▲1
30 Dankook Private Gyeonggi 1001-1200 1001-1200 1001-1200 = 32 30 30 =
31 Hallym Private Gangwon 901-950 951-1000 1001-1200 ▼50 28 28 31 =
32 Kangwon National Gangwon 1001-1200 1001-1200 1001-1200 = 32 30 32 ▼2
33 Kookmin Private Seoul 1001-1200 1201-1400 1001-1200 ▲200 32 36 33 ▲3
34 SeoulTech National Seoul 1001-1200 1201-1400 1001-1200 ▲200 32 36 34 ▲2
35 Soonchunhyang Private Chungnam 1001-1200 1001-1200 1001-1200 = 32 30 35 ▼5
36 Sungshin Private Seoul 901-950 1001-1200 1001-1200 = 32 36 36 =
37 Jeju National Jeju 1201-1400 1201-1400 1201-1400 = 38 36 37 ▼1
38 PKNU National Busan 1201-1400 1201-1400 1201-1400 = 38 36 38 ▼2
39 Sookmyung Private Seoul 1201-1400 1201-1400 1201-1400 = 38 36 39 ▼3
40 Hongik Private Seoul 1201-1400 1201-1400 1401+ ▼200 38 36 40 ▼4
41 Soongsil Private Seoul 1201-1400 1401+ 1401+ = 38 43 41 ▲2
42 Tongmyong Private Busan - - 1401+ = = = = 42
43 Youngsan Private Gyeongnam 1201-1400 1201-1400 1401+ ▼200 38 36 43 ▼7
2026 QS World University Rankings Comparison
University Korea
Rank		 World
Rank		 Total
(Raw Score)		 Academic
Reputation		 Employer
Reputation		 Faculty/Student
Ratio		 Citations
per Faculty		 International
Faculty Ratio		 International
Student Ratio		 International
Research Network		 Employment
Outcomes		 Sustainability
0.3 0.15 0.1 0.2 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
SNU 1 38 85.6 99.7 99.1 85.6 81.2 13.2 27.5 77.6 100 90.8
Yonsei 2 50 82.9 91.6 97.8 84.3 67.9 30.5 74.3 78 94.4 87.7
Korea Univ. 3 61 79.6 89.2 95.4 77 68.2 24.5 64 67.7 93.6 85.9
POSTECH 4 102 67.9 61.3 83.3 99.9 98.3 31.6 4.2 29.6 16 64.3
SKKU 5 126 65.2 68.4 75.6 83.8 62.3 24.2 57.6 49.5 44.2 74.7
Hanyang 6 159 61.2 58.2 81.9 81.7 42.9 23.7 70.1 65.5 54.5 82.8
UNIST 7 310 44.5 21.8 16.3 92.5 99.5 37.4 15.5 26.7 3.9 57.5
Kyung Hee 8 331 42.5 34.6 43 86.2 25.9 19.8 68.5 66.8 21.6 74.9
DGIST 9 370 40.4 17 28.1 82.3 100 5.1 7.3 15.8 2.5 42.8
GIST 10 385 39.1 21.3 12.4 56.7 99.9 15.7 18.5 28.9 2.2 55.3
Sejong Univ. 11 392 38.2 16.3 19.4 16.3 92.2 32.4 50.7 77.8 1.8 61.3
PNU 12 473 33.5 28.6 20.2 57.6 36.7 19.9 27.1 57.5 18.9 73.6
Chung-Ang 13 479 33.3 24.9 37.6 79.2 16.7 19.7 62.4 31.3 17.3 68.9
Ewha 14 504 32 33.5 26.6 75.1 13.6 9.6 37.5 32.9 28.4 67.1
KNU 15 519 31.3 18 20.3 78.5 29.6 18.7 44.6 55.8 15.5 68.3
Sogang 16 558 29.5 27.3 51.9 61.3 8.9 9.5 35.3 16.2 23.4 49.8
Ajou 17 563 29.4 19.8 22.1 70.2 34.3 13.3 58 18.1 5.3 53.3
Dongguk 18 618 27.7 12.8 18 76.3 29.9 22.9 52.3 36.2 6.7 56.5
Inha 19 643 26.9 17.5 19.9 74.7 23.8 17.7 25.7 28.1 17.1 64.7
Konkuk 20 654 26.6 11.6 12.8 61.3 34.1 16.2 43.9 52.5 14.7 61.8
HUFS 21 680 25.9 17.6 25.5 85.2 2.5 40.1 70.5 14.1 3.6 51.5
JBNU 22 701-710 - 19.9 14.2 73.7 21.4 12.5 16.5 34 3.5 64.6
CUK 23 741-750 - 7.9 6 97.4 31 4.7 52.9 14.3 1.9 44.8
Ulsan Univ. 24 801-850 - 6 3.8 60.2 50.1 2.7 3.6 29.1 6.4 44.2
CNU 25 851-900 - 11.7 10.6 54.7 21 8.4 20 40.8 6.7 59.9
UOS 26 851-900 - 17.6 15.6 49.2 16.5 6.4 12 38.4 6.9 48.5
JNU 27 901-950 - 12.2 6.8 47.3 24 14.6 16.3 29.2 6.5 61.3
Yeungnam 28 901-950 - 5.1 4.7 18.9 47.5 38.6 17.8 46.7 4.9 33.5
CBNU 29 1001-1200 - 6.5 4.6 47.9 19.6 10.7 21.5 33.4 1.8 50.9
Dankook 30 1001-1200 - 10 8.3 72 4.8 5.5 12.6 17.1 3.6 47.6
Hallym 31 1001-1200 - 3.4 2.7 95.6 13.4 4.3 3.5 9.1 1.8 41.4
Kangwon 32 1001-1200 - 8 7.1 32 15.4 6.5 10.2 28.6 3.5 56.6
Kookmin 33 1001-1200 - 5.3 6.2 51 5.3 7 63.5 9.9 5.2 43.7
SeoulTech 34 1001-1200 - 10.5 7.9 20.5 18.9 12 32.2 28.6 1.9 49.7
Soonchunhyang 35 1001-1200 - 7.7 9.1 70.9 10.1 7.5 7.3 12.8 1.9 45.2
Sungshin 36 1001-1200 - 9.1 13.4 85 1.5 3.7 6.6 2.7 1.8 28.5
Jeju 37 1201-1400 - 5.1 3.4 44.3 13.5 9.4 9.3 23.4 1.8 53.4
PKNU 38 1201-1400 - 9.4 6 21.2 13.6 6.6 13.9 33.9 1.7 58.6
Sookmyung 39 1201-1400 - 6.9 9.7 46.8 4.9 4.8 5 6.4 1.9 39.8
Hongik 40 1401+ - 6.3 8.7 13.8 5.3 18.9 14.8 14.6 6.4 26.9
Soongsil 41 1401+ - 3.4 6.9 12 9.2 5.7 24 22.3 3.5 20.3
Tongmyong 42 1401+ - 6.3 3.6 38.8 2 8.5 60.2 1.9 1.9 5.3
Youngsan 43 1401+ - 6.5 11.9 25.6 2 3.5 25.3 2.5 1.3 11.5