Van Lang University enters the world's best university rankings

In June 2025, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) announced the QS World University Rankings 2026. Among the 10 Vietnamese universities included in this year's world rankings, Van Lang University is included for the first time. It can be considered a 'case study' of Vietnamese higher education in recent years in terms of its remarkable growth rate.

Despite being a young private university, Van Lang University has continuously achieved many rankings in the world rankings in recent years such as: Top 1,001-1,200 World Universities (QS WUR 2026), Top 500 best universities in Asia (QS Asia University Rankings 2026), Top 601-800 Universities contributing to the global sustainable development goals (THE Impact Rankings 2025). But what is worth mentioning is not only the rankings, the above results also demonstrate the philosophy and strategic path that helps Van Lang gradually enter the world university map - a roadmap that has been prepared for many years. With these steps, students and lecturers will be the ones who fully and directly benefit from the journey to international rankings.

University rankings - from global trends to national strategies

In the context ofeducation globalization, international rankings such as QS, Times Higher Education (THE) or ARWU have become important reference tools for learners, employers and global academics to evaluate the reputation, quality and influence of a training institution. Many countries consider participating in rankings as a long-term strategy to improve the education system, motivate schools to improve programs, enhance teaching capacity and enhance learning experiences.

Aiming for "world-class", South Korea has comprehensively reformed the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), taught entirely in English, attracted international professors and increased scientific publications, as a result, KAIST is now in the top 50 technological universities in the world. China has implemented a series of programs such as Project 211 (1995), Project 985 (1998) and Double First-Class (2015) to create key universities such as Tsinghua University, now in the global top 20. Singapore has consistently invested in the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), two universities that are regularly ranked in the world's top 100 and are destinations for thousands of international students. These real-life examples prove that Asian universities can achieve world-class status when strategically invested.

In Vietnam, university rankings have been officially recognized in the Law on Higher Education as a means of reflecting the quality and performance of training institutions. Among the many achievements in university rankings, this year for the first time Vietnam has 10 universities in the QS World University Rankings, which is a step forward. In particular, the presence of private universities in world rankings is increasingly strong, reflecting the spirit of innovation and international integration.

Van Lang University: Strategic lessons from a young university

Appearing for the first time in the QS World University Rankings 2026, Van Lang University is listed in the global 1,001-1,200 group, highly appreciated in the following criteria: Top 392 globally for academic reputation, Top 650 for faculty/student ratio, Top 701+ for reputation with employers... These are assessments that do not come from the media or internal reports but are established by independent surveys by QS from academics and global employers, demonstrating recognition from the international community.

The results of QS WUR 2026 have similarities with the assessment of THE Impact Rankings 2025 for Van Lang University, when this university was ranked in the Top 201-300 in the world for quality education.

Indicators recorded by QS for Van Lang University in the 2026 rankings

Since 2019, Van Lang University has announced its educational philosophy of "training comprehensive, ethical, lifelong learners and positively impacting and inspiring society through experiential education", and has set a vision to become one of the most admired young universities in Asia by 2030. This international vision was put forward when Van Lang had just built its first academic building on a nearly 6-hectare university campus in Binh Thanh District (HCMC) and caused an explosion in the student community with its beautiful "European-American standard" facilities.

Since then, within more than 5 years, Van Lang University's campus has been completed, with 9 blocks of learning buildings serving in-depth the fields of health sciences, arts and design, engineering - technology, tourism; along with modern facilities and technology throughout the campus. Van Lang University has also accelerated its development, expanding more than 100 domestic training programs and more than 30 international joint programs, connecting more than 400 business partners and universities; including leading universities in Asia and the world such as: NUS (Singapore), Liverpool John Moores (UK), Newcastle (Australia), UCSI (Malaysia), Tasmania (Australia), Angelo State (USA), UTS (Australia), AIT (Thailand), Wagenigen (Netherlands),...

Every year, Van Lang University organizes more than 800 academic - artistic - sports activities, connecting a network of more than 40,000 students, creating a positive learning environment, forming a vibrant academic community, contributing to nurturing soft skills and global integration capacity for students. For learners, Van Lang considers this an international standard Vietnamese university environment, with modern facilities and a rich, open life of experiences.

The new academic buildings are expected to be put into operation by Van Lang University from the 2025-2026 school year, continuing to perfect the comprehensive educational ecosystem according to international standards.

Van Lang University is also an educational institution that actively reviews and improves training programs, innovates teaching methods and proactively develops many diverse programs, develops knowledge and high-level professional skills, soft skills for students, especially digital skills. Van Lang students of all majors study typical courses, enhancing their ability to adapt to the globalization context such as: Global Citizenship Skills, Design Thinking and Innovation, Skills and Critical Thinking, Sustainable Development, Introduction to AI, Data Analysis, Big Data, Machine Learning... At the same time, the school combines training methods that focus on practical experience, critical thinking and creativity, core skills to compete in the global labor market.

In 2018, Van Lang University was nationally accredited. Immediately after that, the school participated in a series of international accreditations such as: QS Stars (4 stars in 2021), FIBAA (the first private school in Vietnam to achieve the certification mark in 2024). Van Lang currently owns many training programs that have met AUN-QA international accreditation standards and is a rare representative of Vietnam with the Performing Arts major ranked in the top 51-100 in the world, and the Art & Design major ranked in the top 101-150 according to QS WUR by Subject 2025.

Van Lang University regularly organizes creative camps and international art exchanges to connect the community of artists and experts from different countries to share multicultural artistic perspectives and viewpoints.

On the journey to international rankings, Van Lang University demonstrates consistency in the goals of "upgrading" and "improving quality", building a solid, modern, and experiential academic foundation - where students expect to learn, grow, and make a positive impact. Rankings are not the final destination, but a means for universities to review their internal capacity, strengthen their reputation, and affirm their commitment to learners. When an educational institution is recognized by the world, it not only marks its academic position, but also sends a message to students and lecturers about the opportunities to study and work in an environment with internationally recognized quality.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/truong-dai-hoc-van-lang-tien-vao-bang-xep-hang-dh-tot-nhat-the-gioi-185250625092009181.htm