AppliedHE announced the results of the inaugural AppliedHE Public & Private University Rankings: ALL ASIA, the first Asia-wide university ranking that separately recognises both public and private universities while placing student feedback and employability outcomes at the heart of its methodology.
The launch of the AppliedHE ALL ASIA Rankings took place during the AppliedHE Xchange, hosted at Sunway University, which is an annual conference that brings together higher education leaders, policymakers and industry partners from across Asia and beyond.
This new ranking responds to the growing demand for a more meaningful and student-centric approach to evaluating higher education quality in Asia. By distinguishing between public and private universities and foregrounding real-world outcomes, the rankings offer a more nuanced and equitable view of institutional performance across a diverse and rapidly evolving higher education landscape.
A total of 493 Asian universities from 41 countries were successfully ranked in this year’s edition. Institutions were evaluated using a rigorous and balanced methodology across six dimensions: Community Engagement, Employability, Student Satisfaction, Research Excellence, Internationalisation and Peer Recognition. These indicators collectively ensure the AppliedHE ALL ASIA ranking reflects not only academic strength, but also the broader student experience and societal value contributed by both public and private universities across the region.
Countries with the highest representation in this year’s ranking: Indonesia leads with 73 ranked universities, followed by the Philippines with 60 institutions and Malaysia with 44. India is represented by 29 universities, while South Korea has 28 institutions making into the list. Importantly, all six regions of Asia feature in the rankings, underscoring that access to quality higher education is broadly distributed and that academic excellence is emerging from every corner of the continent.
In the overall results, Yonsei University secured its position as the top private university in Asia, with Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) and Korea University following closely behind. On the public university side, the University of Hong Kong achieved the highest ranking, ahead of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Mainland China’s Peking University. Sunway University continues to be the top-ranking private university in Southeast Asia, ranking 6th in Asia, while National University of Singapore ranked as top public university in the region. These outcomes reflect a dynamic and competitive higher education landscape in Asia, one in which both public and private institutions are demonstrating strong performance, regional leadership and global relevance.