The University of Dhaka (DU) has retained its position as Bangladesh’s top-ranked university in the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2027, although it slipped four places to 136th in the regional rankings compared with last year.
The rankings were released on Tuesday by international higher education ranking agency Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), featuring more than 1,720 universities across 26 higher education systems.
North South University (NSU) ranked second among Bangladeshi universities, retaining its 149th position in Asia. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) placed third nationally, dropping 14 places to 179th.
A total of 52 Bangladeshi universities featured in this year’s rankings, taking the country’s representation above 50 for the first time. In 2017, only two Bangladeshi universities were included.
According to QS, 12 Bangladeshi universities improved their positions, seven retained their previous rankings and 27 slipped. Six institutions made their debut. However, the number of Bangladeshi universities among Asia’s top 500 fell from 16 last year to 14.
Daffodil International University advanced five places to 216th, while BRAC University dropped 11 places to 271st. Jahangirnagar University fell 25 places to 329th, and Rajshahi University slipped 37 places to 349th.
Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) made a significant improvement, climbing 44 places to 370th. Bangladesh Agricultural University retained its 378th position.
Gazipur Agricultural University, formerly Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, entered Asia’s top 500 for the first time, ranking 407th.
The QS report said Bangladeshi universities performed relatively well in the citations per paper indicator. Three local universities ranked among Asia’s top 10 in this category, while 10 made it into the top 100. Bangladesh ranked fifth in Asia based on the average score in this indicator.
However, the report highlighted weaknesses in faculty-student ratios, the proportion of academic staff holding PhDs, international faculty and student exchange programmes. No Bangladeshi university made Asia’s top 200 in any of these indicators.
Among Asian universities, the University of Hong Kong topped the rankings, followed by Peking University of China. Tsinghua University, also in China, climbed six places to third.
