Times Higher Education (THE) released its 2027 World University Rankings on Sept. 30, with 14 Vietnamese institutions making the list, three more than last year. However, most of them saw their rankings decline.

The University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City remains Vietnam’s highest-ranked institution, but dropped by about 200 places from the 501-600 band last year to 701-800.

Duy Tan University also ranks in the 701-800 band, having fallen by about 100 places from last year.

Ton Duc Thang University suffered an even steeper decline of about 400 places, falling from the 601-800 band to 1001-1200.

No Vietnamese university moved up in this year’s rankings. Only two institutions, Hanoi Medical University and Vietnam National University, Hanoi, retained their positions from last year.

Three institutions that were unranked last year entered the rankings this year: National Economics University at 1601-1800, and Can Tho University and Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, both at 2001+.

Globally, the University of Oxford in the UK remains No. 1 for an unprecedented 11th consecutive year, while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US holds onto second place.

Stanford University climbed to third, tied with Princeton University, while the University of Cambridge ranks fifth.

For the first time, three Asian universities made the global top 15. Tsinghua University in China rose to 11th place, overtaking Switzerland’s ETH Zurich. Peking University in China ranks 13th, while the National University of Singapore is 15th.

THE’s 2027 rankings cover 2,297 higher education institutions across 118 countries and territories. Universities are assessed across five core pillars: teaching (29.5%), research environment (30%), research quality (30%), international outlook (7.5%), and industry (4%).

Thuy Nga