THE WUR 2025 Names UMS as the Best Islamic University in Indonesia

Times Higher Education (THE), a renowned higher education ranking agency, published its latest World University Rankings (WUR) on Wednesday (9/10/2024).  

This year, THE WUR evaluated 2,902 universities worldwide, with 31 universities from Indonesia making the list, including both public and private institutions.

According to the rankings, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) is placed in the 1201-1500 bracket globally and ranks second among the 31 Indonesian universities that made the cut. It shares this distinction with other prominent universities such as Institut Teknologi Bandung, BINUS University, Universitas Airlangga, Universitas Gadjah Mada, dan Universitas Sebelas Maret. 

This achievement has solidified UMS position as the best Islamic university in Indonesia, outperforming competitors like the Universitas Islam Indonesia, Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, dan Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta.

Here are the best Islamic universities in Indonesia according to THE WUR 2025:

THE WUR 2025 uses five key indicators for its rankings: teaching (29.5%), research environment (29%), research quality (30%), industry (4%), and international outlook (7.5%).

UMS achieved a teaching score of 16.3, a research environment score of 9.2, and a research quality score of 58.2. Its scores for industry and international outlook were 17.6 and 31.2, respectively.

Head of UMS Office of Public Relations and Rankings, Gunawan Ariyanto, S.T., M.Comp.Sc, Ph.D., stated that the citation impact in the research quality indicator has placed UMS as the second-ranked university from Indonesia in THE WUR 2025.

He attributed this achievement to the international networks cultivated by the UMS academic community, which have enabled UMS researchers to actively engage in global research collaborations. 

As a result, many of these research efforts were published in prestigious international journals indexed by Scopus Q1, including The Lancet, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Cancers, Life, Nature, Injury Prevention, Schizophrenia Bulletin, and BMC Medicine.

“UMS has consistently produced research articles published in various reputable international journals,” Gunawan explained.

He also highlighted the university’s performance in the teaching indicator, pointing out two strong areas: doctorate bachelor ratio and doctorate staff ratio. Gunawan noted that UMS has made significant progress in this area, with eight doctoral programs currently offered.

Writer: Gede Arga Adrian

Editor: Al Habiib Josy Asheva

Translator: Farizal Luqman Majid