Education UM drops, MUST climbs in QS World University Rankings 2026

The University of Macau (UM) and Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) have both secured spots in the newly released QS World University Rankings 2026, with contrasting results.

UM ranked 285th, marking a drop of 40 places from last year’s 245th position. Meanwhile, MUST climbed 24 places to reach 440th, improving on its 2023 ranking of 464th.

Despite this year’s decline, UM has shown an upward trend, moving from the 701–750 range in 2015 to 254th in 2024.

MUST has also demonstrated long-term progress, rising from the same 701–750 range in 2021 to 505th in 2024, before this year’s leap.

Macao Polytechnic University (MPU) also made its debut in the QS rankings this year, entering the list in the 901–950 band.

Globally, the QS 2026 rankings continue to be dominated by U.S. and U.K. institutions. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retained the top spot for the 14th consecutive year, followed by Imperial College London and Stanford University.

QS senior vice president Ben Sowter noted a shift in higher education trends, pointing to Asia’s growing presence, with 565 of the more than 1,500 ranked universities coming from the region.

Meanwhile, in the 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings, UM advanced two spots to 34th place, while MUST rose one position to 57th.

MUST also made progress in the THE Impact Rankings 2025, moving from the 601–800 range last year to the 301–400 segment.

According to the THE report, this year’s results include data on a record 2,526 universities across 130 countries and territories. As in previous years, there are 18 rankings tables – one overall ranking, and one for each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The report added that the latest data show that “universities in East and Southeast Asia are improving rapidly when it comes to their contributions toward sustainable development.”

“However, globally, universities are falling short on their mental health support for staff, while many are still not assessing their students’ learning about sustainability,” the statement read. Staff Reporter