Southeast Asia’s university named world’s second best for engineering

Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. Photo courtesy of the school

NTU retained its position from the previous ranking, placing behind China’s Tsinghua University and ahead of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Zhejiang University, which tied for third.

Singapore had two universities in the global top 10, with the National University of Singapore ranking eighth. Another institution from the city-state, the Singapore University of Technology and Design, placed 255th.

Asian universities dominated the top tier of the engineering ranking, occupying the top 11 positions and 23 of the top 30. Mainland China accounted for 16 of the top 30, including nine of the top 11.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S. was the highest-ranked institution outside Asia at 12th, followed by Switzerland’s ETH Zurich at 14th and Stanford University at 15th.

Engineering was the largest of the 51 subject rankings published by U.S. News in June, covering 1,614 universities worldwide.

The rankings measured research performance using publications from 2020 to 2024 and citations through Nov. 25, 2025. Universities were assessed across 12 indicators and were required to have published at least 250 engineering papers during the five-year period to qualify.

Top 10 universities in the 2026–2027 U.S. News Best Global Universities for engineering

Huazhong University of Science and Technology

NTU also ranked among the world’s leading universities across several science and technology fields. It took first place globally in electrical and electronic engineering, second in artificial intelligence, third in condensed matter physics, and fourth in both computer science and physical chemistry.

It also ranked sixth in nanoscience and nanotechnology, seventh in chemistry and materials science, and ninth in energy and fuels.

Overall, it ranked 27th in the Best Global Universities ranking and fourth in Asia.