EduAsiaNews, Hanoi — Vietnam has marked a historic milestone in the development of its higher education sector. On March 25, 2026, the British education ranking institution Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) announced the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026. Vietnam placed 13 of its universities on the prestigious list — the highest number the country has ever achieved, including five new entrants: Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA), Foreign Trade University (FTU), Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH), Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry (IUH), and British University Vietnam (BUV).
The QS Rankings by Subject is now in its 16th edition, with more than 1,900 institutions from over 100 countries and regions evaluated. More than 21,000 programs from various universities were compared against one another and grouped into five broad subject areas and 55 specific disciplines. The five evaluation criteria include academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper, H-index, and the International Research Network (IRN) index.
In the overall subject-area rankings, Vietnam placed seven universities, an increase of three from the previous year. Van Lang University (VLU) recorded Vietnam’s best position in the arts and humanities category, ranking 260th in the world. Meanwhile, Duy Tan University (DTU) maintained a strong standing in engineering and technology, ranked 346th globally. Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) led in natural sciences as well as social sciences and management.
Individual achievements also distinguished this year’s announcement. Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics (UEH) grew the number of its ranked programs from one to three in just a single year. UEH’s Economics program climbed to the 201–250 world range, rising approximately 50 places, while its Accounting and Finance program (ranked 301–375) and Business program (ranked 601–650) entered the rankings for the first time.
UEH Vice Director Associate Professor Bui Quang Hung stated, “The QS Subject 2026 results demonstrate that UEH’s transformation strategy has proven effective: shifting from a university focused on economics and management toward a multidisciplinary model that bridges traditional fields with technology and computing.”
Vietnamese universities with a high volume of international publications, particularly in engineering and economics, gained significant advantages under the QS evaluation system. Southeast Asia emerged as one of the regions with the strongest momentum, with 38 percent of its institutions recording improved positions in this year’s QS subject rankings.
For Vietnam, the surge in the number of globally ranked universities reflects a genuine shift in its research and higher education ecosystem, from a local orientation toward an increasingly serious engagement in global academic competition. (**)
(Sources: Vietnam.vn, Thanh Nien, Phu Nu Viet Nam, QS Quacquarelli Symonds (qs.com), March 25–26, 2026)
