SNU leads Korean campuses in latest QS world rankings as Yonsei, KU hit historic highs

Seoul National University once again led Korean higher education institutions in the 2027 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings released Thursday, while Yonsei University closely followed with a record-breaking performance.

Seoul National University ranked 38th globally, maintaining its position as the highest-ranked university in Korea. However, it plateaued on the global stage, holding the same spot it occupied in last year’s 2026 rankings.

QS has been publishing its global university evaluations since 2004, with this year's edition assessing over 1,500 institutions worldwide.

The 2027 QS World University Rankings evaluates institutions across nine indicators: academic reputation, citations per faculty, employer reputation, employment outcomes, international faculty ratio, international research network, international student ratio, faculty-student ratio and sustainability.

Among these metrics, academic reputation and citations per faculty carry the heaviest weight, accounting for 30 percent and 20 percent of the total score, respectively.

Yonsei University secured the second-highest spot among Korean institutions, jumping to 42nd place globally from 50th last year.

Korea University placed third nationally at 52nd, up from 61st the previous year. The 2027 rankings mark historic highs for both Yonsei and Korea University.

KAIST returned to the ranking after being excluded from the previous cycle due to a controversial survey incident. The prior exclusion came after a KAIST professor sent emails to international academics promising gift tokens for participating in the academic reputation survey used for the QS rankings. KAIST ranked fourth domestically and 65th globally for the 2027 ranking, a decline from its 53rd place in the 2025 World University Rankings.

While the QS noted that overall gains across Korean campuses were driven by employer reputation, internationalization and sustainability, it highlighted that academic reputation and research impact remain lingering pain points.

A total of 43 Korean universities made the global list, with 21 of them climbing in rank.

QS emphasized that employability has become a distinct strength for Korean higher education. Korea’s performance in employer reputation has more than doubled since 2020. 

“The rise in employer reputation suggests Korean graduates are increasingly valued by employers around the world, reflecting deeper industry engagement and the global pull of Korean brands and culture,” QS stated in a press release.

According to QS, Korea's international student ratio has more than doubled since 2017.

The report took into account the government’s "Study Korea 300K" initiative, which aims to attract 300,000 international students by 2027. The project reached its annual baseline target two years ahead of schedule.

However, QS noted that overall academic reputation among Korean universities has softened over the past decade, with top-tier research performance increasingly concentrated in specialist science institutes.

Pohang University of Science and Technology ranked fifth domestically, falling to 106th place globally from 102nd last year.

Other Korean universities saw mixed results further down the list. Sungkyunkwan University climbed to 108th from last year’s 126th, and Hanyang University rose four spots to 155th from 159th. Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology rose to 299th place from last year's 310th.

Kyung Hee University advanced to 309th place, up from the previous year's 331st. Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology ranked 379th, rising from last year's 385th. Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, however, dropped to 385th from last year's 370th, while Sejong University slipped six spots to 398th from 392nd.

Chung-Ang University advanced to 432nd from 479th, while Kyungpook National University rose to 481st from 519th. Ewha Womans University climbed to 488th from 504th, and Sogang University made a notable jump to rank 494th, up from last year's 558th. Dongguk University registered a significant leap, jumping to 520th place from 618th last year.

Further down the index, Ajou University fell to 570th place from last year's 563rd, while Konkuk University also slipped from last year's 654th place to 683rd.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO   [[email protected]]