QS Asia University Rankings 2026
About
• Region-specific ranking by QS for universities in Asia, released on 4 November 2025.
• Covers 1,500+ institutions from 25 higher-education systems — the largest edition yet.
• Aims to provide a granular view of Asian higher education — beyond the global QS rankings.
Key Indicators & Weights
According to QS’s insights for 2026 regional edition:
• Academic Reputation: 30% of overall score.
• Employer Reputation: 20%.
• Faculty-Student Ratio: 10%.
• International Research Network: 10%.
• Citations per Paper: 10%.
• Papers per Faculty: 5%.
• Staff with a PhD: 5%.
• Internationalisation metrics: (International Faculty Ratio, International Student Ratio, Inbound Exchange Students, Outbound Exchange Students) each typically 2.5%.
Top Universities (Asia) — 2026 Edition
Top 10 institutions: 1. The University of Hong Kong (HK) – moved up to 1st. 2. Peking University (China) – 2nd.
Key Trends & Country-Highlights
• China (Mainland): Now the most-represented system with ~395 institutions ranked, surpassing India.
• India: ~294 institutions ranked; top Indian university at =59th (Indian Institute of Technology Delhi) with 7 Indian universities in the top 100.
• Hong Kong SAR: Strongest showing ever — 5 universities in Asia’s Top 10.
• South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, etc.: Notable performance improvements; South Korea matched China for number of top-20 positions.
Relevance for Applicants / Policy
• Helps gauge regional competitiveness of universities (versus global ranking only).
• Useful for students looking at Asian institutions for Master’s/PhD — gives insight into reputation, research strength, internationalisation.
• For policy makers/universities: highlights areas needing improvement (international faculty & students, research impact, employer reputation).
• For applicants (such as yourself, looking at PhD in Political Science abroad): Good to check where your target university lies in the regional context, how it performs on research, faculty credentials, international network.