Singapore Management University (SMU) has achieved its best-ever standing in the QS Asia University Rankings 2026 (AUR), rising 18 places to #122 among 1,526 ranked institutions. This places SMU among the top 8 per cent of universities in Asia — its highest percentile performance to date — even as the number of participating institutions grew substantially by more than 50 per cent from the previous year’s 984.
This year’s QS AUR draws from the same dataset as the QS World University Rankings (WUR) 2026, released in June, in which SMU climbed to #511 globally, up from #585 in 2025.
Strength in academic and employer reputation
SMU’s rise in the Asia rankings was driven by stronger performance in three key indicators — Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, and International Faculty — which together account for more than half (52.5 per cent) of the total weightage in the rankings.
- Employer Reputation (20 per cent weightage): improved by 24 places with a significant 20.5-point increase in score.
- Academic Reputation (30 per cent weightage): moved up 14 places with a 17.6-point rise in score.
- International Faculty (2.5 per cent weightage): improved by 1 place, maintaining a perfect score of 100.
These represent the first simultaneous improvements across all three indicators in five years, reflecting SMU’s growing recognition for academic excellence, graduate employability, and international outlook.
While some other indicators recorded declines in rank, most continued to show increases in absolute scores. This was attributed to QS’s refined normalisation methodology this year, which reshaped score distributions across institutions and made rank movements a relative measure of performance.
Continued momentum amid growing competition
Despite intensified competition — with 550 new entrants joining the rankings this year — SMU strengthened its position among Asia’s leading universities. SMU’s progress in both the Asia and World University Rankings underscores the University’s steady advancement in reputation, research output, and global engagement.
“We are very encouraged by SMU’s improved performance in the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, particularly in Academic and Employer Reputation — areas that reflect how our peers and industry partners perceive the quality and relevance of our education and research. This outcome reaffirms the University’s continued progress in enhancing our academic impact, international visibility, and graduate outcomes. We will build on this momentum as we strengthen our partnerships, research collaborations, and reputation across Asia and beyond.”
SMU Provost Professor Alan Chan
Looking ahead
SMU remains committed to advancing its mission of generating cutting-edge research with real-world impact and nurturing graduates who are prepared to make meaningful contributions globally. This achievement reflects the collective dedication and collaborative spirit of the SMU community in striving for excellence and impact as One SMU.
