9 Vietnamese schools in the ranking of best universities in Asia, one school ranked 136th

Hanoi Medical University, one of the new Vietnamese representatives appearing in the ranking of the best universities in Asia

PHOTO: HANOI MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

3 more schools added to Asia's best university rankings

The UK-based Times Higher Education (THE) organization announced the 2025 Asia University Rankings on April 23. This is the first time that 9 Vietnamese universities have been included, after 2 consecutive years when only 6 representatives from our country were ranked. The general trend of the universities is to maintain or drop in rank compared to the previous year, while the new representatives have one school achieving a high ranking.

Specifically, among 853 universities across Asia, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics (UEH) in its first year of participation led Vietnam at 136th place. This ranking is higher than some prominent representatives of Japan (Waseda University), Taiwan (Chongshan National University), South Korea (Chonnam National University) and is called a "historic milestone" by the school. "UEH has reached the finish line very early on one of many key goals," said UEH University Council Chairman Nguyen Dong Phong.

Meanwhile, Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City ranked 2nd in Vietnam with a ranking of 201-250, continuing its downward trend since its appearance, from 73 (2022) to 86 (2023), 193 (2024). Ranked 3rd in Vietnam is Duy Tan University in Da Nang, in the 251-300 group and this ranking remains the same as last year. This is also the first time the two schools have lost their No. 1 and No. 2 positions in Vietnam since their appearance.

Similarly, the universities: Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi National University, Ho Chi Minh City National University and Hue University all maintained their rankings compared to last year, in which the first two universities were in the 501-600 group and the last two universities were in the 601+ group. Hanoi Medical University, in its first year of participation, appeared in the 401-500 group, while Ho Chi Minh City Open University was ranked in the 501-600 group of the best Asian universities in the world.

In addition to the 9 schools mentioned above, Van Lang University (HCMC) is the 10th name from Vietnam to enter the ranking of the best universities in Asia for the first time, but in the "reporter" status (the group is recognized). That is, the school has not been ranked because it only meets certain criteria, does not meet all the requirements but is making efforts to be ranked. A year earlier, Ho Chi Minh City Open University also had this status and successfully entered the top.

Ranking of some of the best Vietnamese universities in Asia

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

How to rank the best universities in Asia

To rank universities across Asia, THE uses a total of 18 criteria divided into five groups: research quality (30% of the total score), research environment (28%), teaching (24.5%), technology transfer (10%) and international outlook (7.5%). This ranking method is similar to the way THE evaluates universities around the world, but some criteria have been weighted to reflect the specific factors of Asia.

In general, although representatives from Vietnam scored highly in terms of research quality, their research environment scored modestly. For example, UEH scored 90/100 points in terms of research quality, but its research environment was only rated at about 1/3, at 32.8 points. The difference in scores at Ton Duc Thang University and Duy Tan University was even higher, at 85.3-17.4 and 83.1-17.5, respectively.

There is also a big difference in research quality between the schools, with Ho Chi Minh City Open University having the 4th highest score (58.3) but 24.8 points behind Duy Tan University in 3rd place, while Hue University has the lowest score (19) and is 71 points behind the 1st place. However, in the research environment, the schools are not too far apart, ranging from 11-32.8 points. The same thing happens in teaching, ranging from 11.8 (Ho Chi Minh City Open University) to 40.6 points (Hanoi Medical University).

In terms of technology transfer, Hanoi University of Science and Technology leads Vietnam with 59.5 points, followed by UEH (53.6) and Ho Chi Minh City National University (40.5). This is also the first year that Hanoi University of Science and Technology has a score that is not too far apart from other schools.

In terms of international prospects, Ton Duc Thang University ranked first with 60.9 points, followed by Duy Tan University (54.5) and Hue University (48.9).

Weight of criteria for ranking the best universities in Asia

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

In 2025, THE ranked universities from 35 countries and territories in Asia. Among them, Tsinghua University and Peking University maintained their first and second positions in the ranking of the best universities in Asia for the 6th year, and mainland China had a total of 5 schools in the top 10. Following them were two schools from Hong Kong, two schools from Singapore and one school from Japan, with rankings only slightly fluctuating compared to last year.

THE is one of the most prestigious, experienced and influential university ranking organizations in the world, along with QS (UK) and ShanghaiRanking Consultancy (China). THE has been ranking universities since 2004 with QS, one year after the world first had a global university ranking published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (later Shanghai Ranking Consultancy).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/9-truong-viet-vao-bang-xep-hang-dh-tot-nhat-chau-a-co-truong-dung-thu-136-185250424104838288.htm