0 7567 3000
0 7567 3000
Walailak University has achieved higher scores across multiple evaluation areas in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026, while maintaining its global position in the 1201–1500 band and ranking sixth in Thailand.
Notably, the university, recognized as a Global and Frontier Research University by Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, continues to excel in Research Quality and International Outlook—ranking third in Thailand for both pillars, up from fifth place last year.
The 2026 THE World University Rankings, released on 9 October 2025, feature 2,191 research-intensive universities from 115 countries, an increase from 2,092 universities in the 2025 edition. This year, 21 Thai universities were included in the rankings, compared with 20 the previous year.
THE’s methodology evaluates universities using 18 performance indicators grouped into five key pillars: Teaching (29.5%), Research Environment (29%), Research Quality (30%), Industry (4%), and International Outlook (7.5%).
Among these, research-related pillars collectively carry the highest weight at 59%, assessing a university’s research performance through indicators such as citation impact, research strength, excellence, influence, reputation, income, and productivity.
Walailak University ranked 996th worldwide and third in Thailand for Research Quality, moving up from 1,060th worldwide and fifth in Thailand.
In the International Outlook pillar—which assesses the proportion of international students, international staff, and international collaboration—the university also improved its standing, ranking 1,004th worldwide and third in Thailand, up from 1,099th worldwide and fifth nationally last year.
Across the remaining three pillars, the university recorded improvements in two. In the Research Environment pillar, WU scored 15.4, up from 14.6 last year. In Industry, the score increased to 18.7, compared with 17.7 the previous year. The Teaching pillar saw a slight decrease from 20.3 to 19.4. Overall, WU’s total score rose to 31.44, up from 29.7 in 2024 — an increase of approximately 1.7 points.
According to Professor Dr. Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, President of WU, the university has strengthened its research endeavors that also benefit the country’s development. As of 1 October 2025, WU holds the highest proportion of Scopus-indexed Q1 and Q2 journal publications in Thailand, reaching 93.8%, an increase from 90% in 2024 and 87.3% in 2023. International research collaboration has also grown, accounting for 66% in 2025, up from 61.9% in 2024 and 55.3% in 2023.
“In the future, this will further strengthen Walailak University’s identity and credibility as a truly research-intensive university,” said the President.
Walailak University is also the only institution in Thailand that has implemented the United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) across all teaching and learning practices, with more than 90 percent of lecturers certified by Advance HE under the framework—ensuring the delivery of world-class education and learning.
