Regional, smaller universities challenge hierarchy as globalization paths diverge

Regional and smaller universities showed strong results in specific areas of The Korea Times University Rankings 2027, even as SKY schools dominated the overall standings. Handong Global University ranked second in student support, Woosong University placed fourth in education, and Incheon National University finished fourth in student support. The rankings aimed to help international students choose where to study in Korea.

The rankings evaluated 60 four-year universities nationwide across four categories: education, research, student support and graduate outcomes.

Education carried 70 points, research 50 points, and student support and graduate outcomes 40 points each.

Woosong University ranked fourth in education with 48.53 points, while Kyungsung University placed 10th in education despite ranking 50th overall.

Handong Global University ranked second in student support, and Incheon National University ranked fourth in the same category.

The evaluation added the proportion of foreign faculty members this year, expanding the education category beyond student recruitment alone.

Published Sep 18, 2026 12:01 am KST

Updated Sep 18, 2026 2:31 pm KST

Handong Global, Incheon National, Woosong stand out in education, student support, graduate outcomes

The main entrance to Seoul National University in Gwanak District, Seoul / Korea Times file

Some universities outside Seoul and the capital region demonstrated strong international competitiveness in specific areas in The Korea Times University Rankings 2027, despite the dominance of the country’s top-tier schools in the overall standings.

This indicates that universities are strengthening their international capabilities in different ways across areas such as student recruitment, educational environments, international research, student support and graduate outcomes.

Korea University, Seoul National University and Yonsei University — the country’s three leading institutions collectively known as “SKY” — held the top three spots in the overall top 30.

However, regional and smaller universities including Handong Global University, Incheon National University, Woosong University and Kyungsung University performed strongly in categories such as education, student support and graduate outcomes.

Handong Global University, based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, stood out by ranking second in student support behind only Seoul National University, despite placing 23rd overall.

Incheon National University placed 19th overall but took fourth place in student support. Daejeon-based Woosong University ranked fourth in the education category, well above its 20th-place overall ranking.

Busan-based Kyungsung University ranked 50th overall but placed 10th in education. The University of Ulsan placed 11th and 13th in student support and graduate outcomes, respectively, compared with its 39th overall position.

Graphic by Bae So-young

These results suggest that a university’s internationalization performance should not be assessed solely on the basis of its overall ranking.

Rather, it is important to consider the strategies each university has adopted and the results it has achieved across individual areas.

The distinct strengths of universities across individual categories further highlight the importance of university-specific internationalization strategies.

The rankings evaluation covered 60 four-year universities nationwide, with a total of 200 points distributed across four categories: 70 for education, 50 for research, 40 for student support and 40 for graduate outcomes.

It was designed to help international students make informed choices about studying in Korea.

A view of a campus building at Woosong University in Daejeon / Courtesy of Woosong University

Woosong University rises to 4th in education

Major Seoul-based universities led the education category.

Korea University ranked first with 52.16 points, followed by Sungkyunkwan University with 51.43 points and Hanyang University with 49.16 points.

One exception was Woosong University, which claimed fourth place with 48.53 points. Yonsei University ranked fifth with 48.46 points.

The evaluation listed Sejong University sixth, Sogang University seventh, Sungshin Women’s University eighth, Dongguk University ninth and Kyungsung University 10th.

Universities were evaluated on seven indicators, including the ratio of exchange students to enrolled students, the ratio of international students to total enrollment, the diversity of international students’ nationalities, the proportion of international students meeting language proficiency requirements and the international student retention rate.

The proportion of foreign faculty members was added to this year’s assessment, strengthening the criteria for evaluating whether a university’s internationalization extends beyond its student population to its faculty and learning environment.

Rather than simply measuring how many international students a university has recruited, the assessment takes a comprehensive approach to determining whether it has created an educational environment where students from diverse backgrounds can successfully continue their studies.

It is noteworthy that Woosong University, Sungshin Women’s University and Kyungsung University each ranked higher in the education category than in the overall rankings.

Woosong University rose from 20th overall to fourth in education, while Kyungsung University climbed from 50th overall to 10th in education.

These results demonstrate that universities can perform strongly in the education category through strategies that differ from those based on research scale or alumni networks.

They also suggest that universities can improve their performance in this category, regardless of their overall ranking, by focusing on strategies such as attracting international students, helping them adapt to academic life, expanding student exchange programs and recruiting foreign faculty members.

A view of Korea University campus in Seongbuk District, Seoul / Courtesy of Korea University

Korea University tops research category

Korea University also claimed the top spot in the research category with 40.51 points, followed by Sejong University with 39.60 points and Sungkyunkwan University with 38.71 points.

Yonsei University and Seoul National University ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. Sixth place went to Kyung Hee University.

Hanyang University took seventh place and Hanyang University ERICA Campus eighth place, followed by Yeungnam University and Chung-Ang University.

Sejong University performed better in the research category than in the overall rankings, although it slipped one spot from last year’s top position.

Hanyang University ERICA Campus and Yeungnam University also ranked higher than their overall rankings of 16th and 29th, respectively.

This suggests that even universities that do not rank highly overall can still achieve strong results in research by focusing on research infrastructure, international collaborative research networks and strong publication performance in specific fields.

However, the research category recorded the largest gap among the four categories, with a 38.59-point difference between the highest and lowest scores. The category’s average score was just 44.6 percent of the maximum 50 points.

These figures indicate that international research capabilities remain relatively concentrated in a limited number of universities.

The research category takes into account the number of international research papers per faculty member, the proportion of internationally collaborative research papers, the Field-Weighted Citation Impact, the proportion of international papers published in the top 10 percent of academic journals and research funding.

By evaluating not only the volume of publications but also the intensity of international collaboration, citation impact, performance in high-quality journals and the research resources supporting these activities, the category most directly reflects each university’s long-term research ecosystem.

A view of a campus building at Handong Global University in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of Handong Global University

Handong Global University ranks 2nd in student support

Seoul National University claimed first place in the student support category, followed by Handong Global University and Yonsei University.

Incheon National University and Korea University ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

Seoul National University of Science and Technology, the Catholic University of Korea, Inje University, the University of Seoul and Ewha Womans University made the top 10.

Handong Global University and Incheon National University stood out for ranking significantly higher than their overall standings of 23rd and 19th, underscoring their strength in student support regardless of university size or overall ranking.

This suggests that universities can strengthen their international competitiveness by focusing resources on student-centered support, such as scholarships, tuition assistance and housing, regardless of large-scale research achievements or traditional prestige.

The student support category evaluates educational expenditure per enrolled student, scholarships, donations and the proportion of international students accommodated in university dormitories.

Instead of simply measuring the number of international students, this category assesses whether universities have established financial and housing support systems that enable international students to study and live in a stable environment.

International students’ ability to remain enrolled and engage in the local community is critical to the sustainability of university internationalization. Thus, student support can be viewed as a foundation that underpins performance in the education category.

Front view of Seoul National University's administrative building in Gwanak District, Seoul

Seoul National University tops graduate outcomes

The country’s leading universities dominated the graduate outcomes and social impact category.

Seoul National University placed first, followed by Korea University and Yonsei University.

Sungkyunkwan University was fourth and Sogang University fifth. Hanyang University, Chung-Ang University, Ewha Womans University, Pusan National University and Dongguk University also ranked in the top 10.

Across the 60 universities, the average score stood at 12.85 out of 40, just 32.1 percent of the maximum — the lowest among the four categories. The wide disparity was also evident in the scores, which ranged from a high of 36.07 to just 2.40.

This suggests that employment and further education outcomes, alumni networks and social impact are achievements built over the long term through factors such as a university’s history, alumni base and graduates’ career and academic pathways.

For this reason, graduate outcomes and social impact cannot be significantly improved through short-term measures alone.

The graduate outcomes category evaluates employment and further education rates among graduates as well as their social impact.

Employment is measured separately through the overall employment rate and the sustained employment rate to reflect the continuity of employment, while social impact examines the influence of graduates across various fields, including politics, the economy, public administration, law and other professions.

As the category assesses whether internationalization-focused education and support during students’ university years translate into career outcomes and social contributions after graduation, it is the most outcome-oriented of the four categories.

Evaluating the outcomes of internationalization policies requires looking beyond short-term international student recruitment figures to the longer-term pathways that lead to graduates’ career development, settlement and participation in society.

在《韩国时报》2027年大学排名中，尽管SKY联盟院校在整体排名中占据主导地位，但一些地区性大学和规模较小的大学在某些特定领域表现出色。韩东国际大学在学生支持方面排名第二，又松大学在教育方面排名第四，仁川国立大学在学生支持方面也位列第四。该排名旨在帮助国际学生选择在韩国的留学目的地。

该排名对全国 60 所四年制大学进行了四类评估：教育、研究、学生支持和毕业生就业情况。

教育占 70 分，研究占 50 分，学生支持和毕业生成果各占 40 分。

又松大学教育专业排名第四，得分为 48.53 分；庆星大学虽然总排名第 50 位，但教育专业排名第 10 位。

韩东国际大学在学生支持方面排名第二，仁川国立大学在同一类别中排名第四。

今年的评估新增了外籍教师比例，将教育类别扩展到学生招生以外的范围。

发布于2026年9月18日凌晨12:01（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月18日下午2:31（韩国标准时间）

韩东国际、仁川国立、佑松在教育、学生支持和毕业生就业方面表现突出

首尔大学冠岳区正门 / 韩国时报档案照片

尽管韩国顶尖大学在整体排名中占据主导地位，但在《韩国时报》2027年大学排名中，首尔和首都地区以外的一些大学在特定领域展现出了强大的国际竞争力。

这表明，大学正在从学生招生、教育环境、国际研究、学生支持和毕业生就业等不同领域加强其国际能力。

高丽大学、首尔大学和延世大学——韩国三所顶尖大学统称为“SKY”——在总排名前 30 名中占据前三名。

然而，包括韩东国际大学、仁川国立大学、又松大学和庆星大学在内的地区性和规模较小的大学在教育、学生支持和毕业生成果等类别中表现强劲。

位于庆尚北道浦项市的韩东国际大学虽然总排名第 23 位，但在学生支持方面排名第二，仅次于首尔国立大学，表现突出。

仁川国立大学总排名第19位，但在学生支持方面排名第四。位于大田的又松大学在教育类别中排名第四，远高于其总排名第20位的排名。

釜山庆星大学综合排名第50位，但在教育方面排名第10位。蔚山大学综合排名第39位，但在学生支持和毕业生就业方面分别排名第11位和第13位。

插图由裴素英绘制

这些结果表明，不应仅仅根据大学的总体排名来评估其国际化表现。

相反，重要的是要考虑每所大学采取的策略以及在各个领域取得的成果。

各大学在不同类别中的独特优势进一步凸显了大学制定专门国际化战略的重要性。

此次排名评估涵盖了全国 60 所四年制大学，总分为 200 分，分为四个类别：教育 70 分，研究 50 分，学生支持 40 分，毕业生成果 40 分。

它旨在帮助国际学生就赴韩国留学做出明智的选择。

大田又松大学校园建筑一景 / 图片由又松大学提供

又松大学在教育领域排名升至第四

首尔主要高校在教育类奖项中名列前茅。

高丽大学以 52.16 分位列第一，成均馆大学以 51.43 分位列第二，汉阳大学以 49.16 分位列第三。

其中，又松大学是个例外，它以48.53分位列第四。延世大学以48.46分排名第五。

评估结果显示，世宗大学排名第六，西江大学排名第七，诚信女子大学排名第八，东国大学排名第九，庆星大学排名第十。

大学根据七项指标进行评估，包括交换生与注册学生的比例、国际学生与总注册人数的比例、国际学生国籍的多样性、达到语言能力要求的国际学生比例以及国际学生留校率。

今年的评估新增了外籍教师比例这一指标，加强了对大学国际化程度是否超越学生群体、延伸至教师队伍和学习环境的评估标准。

评估方法并非简单地衡量一所大学招收了多少国际学生，而是采用综合方法来判断该大学是否创造了一个教育环境，使来自不同背景的学生能够成功地继续学业。

值得注意的是，又松大学、诚信女子大学和庆星大学在教育类排名中均高于其在综合排名中的排名。

又松大学在教育领域的总排名从第 20 位上升到第 4 位，而庆星大学在教育领域的总排名从第 50 位上升到第 10 位。

这些结果表明，大学可以通过不同于基于研究规模或校友网络的策略，在教育领域取得优异成绩。

他们还建议，无论大学的整体排名如何，都可以通过专注于吸引国际学生、帮助他们适应学术生活、扩大学生交流项目和招聘外国教师等策略来提高其在这一类别中的表现。

首尔城北区高丽大学校园一景 / 图片由高丽大学提供

高丽大学在研究领域名列前茅

高丽大学在研究类排名中也位居榜首，得分为 40.51 分，其次是世宗大学（得分 39.60 分）和成均馆大学（得分 38.71 分）。

延世大学和首尔大学分别位列第四和第五，庆熙大学排名第六。

汉阳大学排名第七，汉阳大学ERICA校区排名第八，岭南大学和中央大学紧随其后。

世宗大学在研究类别中的表现优于总体排名，尽管其排名比去年的榜首下滑了一位。

汉阳大学ERICA校区和岭南大学的排名也分别高于其总排名（分别为第16名和第29名）。

这表明，即使是整体排名不高的大学，也可以通过专注于研究基础设施、国际合作研究网络以及在特定领域取得优异的论文发表成绩，在研究方面取得显著成果。

然而，在四个类别中，研究类类别的差距最大，最高分和最低分之间相差38.59分。该类别的平均分仅为满分50分的44.6%。

这些数据表明，国际研究能力仍然相对集中在少数几所大学中。

研究类别考虑了每位教员的国际研究论文数量、国际合作研究论文的比例、领域加权引用影响、在排名前 10% 的学术期刊上发表的国际论文的比例以及研究经费。

通过评估出版物的数量，以及国际合作的强度、引用影响力、在高质量期刊上的表现以及支持这些活动的研究资源，该类别最直接地反映了每所大学的长期研究生态系统。

位于庆尚北道浦项市的韩东国际大学校园建筑一景 / 图片由韩东国际大学提供

韩东国际大学在学生支持方面排名第二

首尔国立大学在学生支持类别中荣获第一名，其次是韩东国际大学和延世大学。

仁川国立大学和高丽大学分别位列第四和第五。

首尔科技大学、韩国天主教大学、仁济大学、首尔大学和梨花女子大学跻身前十名。

韩东国际大学和仁川国立大学的排名明显高于其总排名（分别为第 23 位和第 19 位），这凸显了它们在学生支持方面的优势，而与大学规模或总排名无关。

这表明，无论大学是否取得大规模的研究成果或拥有传统的声望，只要将资源集中用于以学生为中心的扶持，例如奖学金、学费资助和住宿，就可以增强其国际竞争力。

学生资助类别评估每位入学学生的教育支出、奖学金、捐款以及入住大学宿舍的国际学生比例。

该类别并非简单地衡量国际学生的数量，而是评估大学是否建立了经济和住房支持体系，使国际学生能够在稳定的环境中学习和生活。

国际学生能否继续完成学业并积极参与当地社区活动，对大学国际化的可持续发展至关重要。因此，学生支持可以被视为支撑教育领域绩效的基石。

首尔大学行政楼正面图，位于首尔冠岳区

首尔国立大学毕业生就业情况最佳

该国顶尖大学在毕业生就业成果和社会影响方面占据主导地位。

首尔大学位列第一，其次是高丽大学和延世大学。

成均馆大学排名第四，西江大学排名第五。汉阳大学、中央大学、梨花女子大学、釜山大学和东国大学也位列前十。

在60所大学中，平均分仅为12.85分（满分40分），仅占满分的32.1%，是四个类别中最低的。分数差异也十分显著，最高分为36.07分，最低仅为2.40分。

这表明，就业和继续教育成果、校友网络和社会影响都是通过大学的历史、校友基础以及毕业生的职业和学术道路等因素，在长期发展中取得的成就。

因此，仅靠短期措施无法显著改善毕业生的就业成果和社会影响。

毕业生就业情况类别评估毕业生的就业率和继续教育率以及他们的社会影响。

就业情况通过总体就业率和持续就业率来衡量，以反映就业的连续性；而社会影响则考察毕业生在各个领域的影响，包括政治、经济、公共管理、法律和其他专业。

该类别评估的是学生在大学期间接受的以国际化为重点的教育和支持是否能转化为毕业后的职业成果和社会贡献，因此它是四个类别中最注重结果的。

评估国际化政策的成果，需要超越短期国际学生招生人数，着眼于毕业生职业发展、定居和社会参与的长期路径。