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🎓 Top Research Universities in Malaysia

Universities and colleges in Malaysia ranked by the total citations their research has received (OpenAlex).

📅 2026📏 citations50 entries🇲🇾 See all of this country’s rankings →
Every dot is one entry, placed by its value (citations, logarithmic scale); the vertical bar marks each row’s median.
1
University of Malaya106,835 papers
6,232,361
2
Universiti Putra Malaysia82,130 papers
4,591,857
3
Universiti Sains Malaysia94,862 papers
4,113,495
4
University of Technology Malaysia80,775 papers
3,638,314
5
National University of Malaysia93,072 papers
3,563,644
6
Universiti Teknologi MARA90,690 papers
1,512,819
7
Universiti Teknologi Petronas25,056 papers
1,228,629
8
Universiti Teknologi MARA System63,052 papers
1,129,543
9
Monash University Malaysia15,842 papers
920,328
10
Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah23,654 papers
882,163
11
International Islamic University Malaysia35,149 papers
694,430
12
Universiti Malaysia Perlis22,264 papers
634,356
13
Tun Hussein Onn University of Malaysia30,163 papers
562,376
14
Universiti of Malaysia Sabah22,037 papers
525,285
15
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu16,987 papers
523,636
16
Universiti Tenaga Nasional12,506 papers
516,608
17
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus9,702 papers
516,410
18
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman13,476 papers
475,892
19
Multimedia University16,659 papers
427,799
20
Universiti Utara Malaysia23,341 papers
410,650
21
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak15,491 papers
388,608
22
Sunway University12,508 papers
351,042
23
IMU University7,491 papers
332,158
24
Taylor's University10,787 papers
307,457
25
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka15,570 papers
303,985
26
UCSI University9,444 papers
290,930
27
Sultan Idris Education University16,623 papers
232,747
28
Sultan Zainal Abidin University12,942 papers
199,397
29
Curtin University Sarawak3,431 papers
182,540
30
University of Kuala Lumpur10,420 papers
180,050
31
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Sungai Long Campus4,843 papers
168,739
32
Xiamen University Malaysia4,304 papers
168,243
33
Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus3,382 papers
162,665
34
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan8,470 papers
149,693
35
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia11,382 papers
139,312
36
National Defence University of Malaysia6,049 papers
135,419
37
AIMST University2,803 papers
102,084
38
INTI International University9,264 papers
83,675
39
Management and Science University5,521 papers
78,908
40
Mahsa University2,747 papers
63,508
41
Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology3,660 papers
62,916
42
Tropical Infectious Diseases Research & Education Centre748 papers
53,028
43
Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation3,697 papers
40,850
44
SEGi University3,389 papers
38,324
45
Lincoln University College5,429 papers
36,700
46
Manipal University College Malaysia1,707 papers
35,642
47
Institut Nanosains dan Nanoteknologi962 papers
31,315
48
Perdana University1,029 papers
30,850
49
Institut Oseanografi dan Sekitaran1,356 papers
29,832
50
Heriot-Watt University Malaysia1,410 papers
28,935

Highlights

Within Malaysia, University of Malaya ranks first in 2026 with 6,232,361, followed by Universiti Putra Malaysia (4,591,857) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (4,113,495).

Across 50 entries, values run from 6,232,361 (University of Malaya) to 28,935 (Heriot-Watt University Malaysia), with a median of 297,458.

Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers, 2026. Unit: citations.

Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers · CC0 1.0 (OpenAlex) · fetched Oct 13, 2026 — Counts every citation to papers by authors affiliated with the institution, so large and old universities score high. It measures research impact, not teaching quality.