In this article, we will look at the 20 best universities in Asia for international students. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to the 5 Best Universities in Asia for International Students.
Analysis of International Student Mobility
Every year millions of international students leave their country in pursuit of higher education in a different country. One of our recent articles about the Best Countries for International Students to Study and Work found that the United States is one of the top host countries for international students. The number of international students in the world is increasing. According to the data by UNESCO, the number of international students studying abroad increased by approximately 15.31% between 2017 and 2021. As per the data, there were approximately 6.39 million international students in 2021. Moreover, according to the Top International Managers in Engineering (T.I.M.E.) International Student Mobility Report 2023, Europe was found to be the top international student hosting country, with approximately 43% of the internationally mobile students going to Europe in 2021. Second to Europe was Asia, which not only became the destination of approximately 28% of the international students but was also the top contributor to the international student body, with 54% of the total international students in 2021 belonging to Asia. To read about countries with the best universities, you can look at the 30 Countries With Best Universities In The World and 17 Countries With Best Universities In Europe.
An Analysis of the Education Technology Industry
The use of technology in the education sector and online learning is on the rise around the globe. According to a report by Grand View Research, the global education technology market was valued at $142.37 billion in 2023. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.4% during the forecasted period to reach $343.33 billion by 2030. The improvement in digital infrastructure, the rise in the use of Ed-Tech platforms, and the use of AR/VR technology in education are driving growth in the industry. Regionally, North America dominates the market and held approximately 36% revenue share in 2023. However, the Asia Pacific region is forecasted to grow at the fastest CAGR, mainly due to the increasing access to mobile devices and internet connectivity.
According to Southeast Asia: Technology in Education Report 2023 by UNESCO, the digital infrastructure of the region has expanded rapidly and improved the education sector. The Southeast Asian region has had one of the fastest growth rates in the use of the Internet for the last decade and has more than 400 million Internet users. Governments in the region are leveraging the expansion of digital infrastructure to enhance the education system, for instance, the government of Brunei has launched the Brunei Darussalam Digital Economy Master Plan 2025 which identified ICT in education to be one of the major steps towards becoming a smart nation. Moreover, Malaysia aims to integrate ICT across 10,000 schools to provide personalized learning experiences for all. Although, the main mode of internet connectivity in the region is through mobile phones, which are not considered education-friendly, regardless Asia Pacific accounted for the greatest number of learners on Coursera, Inc.’s (NYSE:COUR) platform. You can also look at the Largest EdTech Companies in the World. According to Coursera, Inc.’s (NYSE:COUR) Impact Report 2021, the platform registered 92 million learners during 2021, out of which, 28 million learners were from the Asia Pacific region, even surpassing the North American region with 20 million learners. You can also look at 17 Countries With Best Universities In Africa.
Leading Ed-Tech Platforms
Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) and Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY) are two of the leading Ed-Tech platforms providing online courses to learners worldwide.
Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) is one of the world’s largest online education platforms that offers online degrees affiliated with top universities, professional certifications, and enterprise solutions for employee training and development. On April 13, Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) announced the incorporation of several new features to its online learning platform. The new features released by the platform include a Generative AI-powered Coursera couch that answers questions, provides personalized feedback, summarizes video lectures, and helps learners better understand the course content. The platform also released machine learning-powered translation services to make it more accessible for learners. In the upcoming months, learners will be able to translate course contents and other related services of more than 2,000 courses to Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Portuguese, Thai, and Indonesian. Moreover, among other features, another notable feature is the incorporation of virtual reality (VR) components in online courses. With this new feature course content creators on Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) can now leverage VR in their courses to make them more interactive and conducive to learning.
Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY) is another leading marketplace for skill learning and professional certifications. The platform has over 16,000 enterprise customers around the world and provides courses related to technical skills, business development, soft skills, and personal development in multiple languages. On May 2, Udemy, Inc. (NASDAQ:UDMY) announced earnings for the fiscal first quarter of 2024. The company announced earnings per share of $0.03 and beat EPS estimates by $0.04. Moreover, the company’s revenue for the quarter grew by 11.57% and amounted to $196.85 million, ahead of market expectations by $1.93 million. Here are some comments for Udemy, Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:UDMY) earnings call for Q1 2024:
We see this use case for AI training and IT certification preparation as a long-term driver of demand going forward. In just over a year since Chat GPT launched, we’ve seen more than 4 million enrollments in the 2,000 plus AI courses in the Udemy catalog. This massive surge in interest from individuals and organizations demonstrates the rapidly growing need to upskill talent on generative AI. Based on what we’ve seen in the past year, we believe generative AI will have a significant lasting impact across nearly every industry, region, and professional role. Organizations will require employees to cultivate new skills to adapt to change and certain roles may be replaced entirely. A key reason why Udemy’s unique marketplace model is so compelling is how quickly we can expand and adapt our content catalog.
With this context let’s look at the 20 best universities in Asia for international students.
Pixabay/Public domain
Our Methodology
To compile the list of 20 best universities in Asia for international students we relied on the QS World University Ranking 2024. We searched for Asian universities in the QS World University Ranking 2024 and checked their international student enrollment ratio. We only selected those Asian universities that ranked in the top 200 as per the QS ranking and had an international-student ratio of at least 25%. Once we had the list of best universities in Asia for international students, we ranked the universities in descending order of their QS ranking. Moreover, for instances where one or more universities had the same ranking, we used the international student ratio to break the tie.
20 Best Universities in Asia for International Students
20. Hanyang University
QS World University Ranking (2024): 164
International Student Ratio: 54.3%
Hanyang University is a private research university in South Korea. The Seoul campus offers multiple courses related to engineering, design, medicine, social sciences, and business economics. The university has 4,797 international students and offers multiple international exchange programs.
19. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
QS World University Ranking (2024): 159
International Student Ratio: 61.1%
The Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) ranks 19th on our list of 20 best universities in Asia for international students. It is a public research university in Malaysia that offers multiple undergraduate, master’s, and PhD level courses related to sciences and technology, social sciences, law, health sciences, and information science and technology. The university has 5,114 international students.
18. Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
QS World University Ranking (2024): 158
International Student Ratio: 97.3%
The Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is another public university in Malaysia that ranks 18th on our list of best universities in Asia for international students. The university has 7,225 international students, with approximately 72% international students enrolled in postgraduate programs. Moreover, the university has an international-student ratio of 97.3%.
17. Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
QS World University Ranking (2024): 145
International Student Ratio: 34%
Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) is a private university in South Korea. Some of the popular graduate programs offered by the university are related to liberal arts, law, social sciences, economics, business administration, and education. The university has 3,782 international students with approximately 74% enrolled in undergraduate programs. The university ranks 17th on our list of 20 best universities in Asia for international students.
16. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
QS World University Ranking (2024): 137
International Student Ratio: 88.9%
The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is one of the leading universities in Malaysia that ranks as the 16th best university in Asia for international students. The university has a QS World University ranking of 137 and an international-student ratio of 88.9%. Moreover, there are approximately 7,979 international students in the university with 84% enrolled in post-graduate programs.
15. Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech)
QS World University Ranking (2024): 91
International Student Ratio: 31.7%
The Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) is a national university research university situated in the Greater Tokyo Area, Japan. The university offers graduate programs in artificial intelligence, urban design and building, energy science and informatics, nuclear engineering, and more. The university has an international student ratio of 31.7% and charges annual tuition fees of $4,600 for international students. It ranks as the 15th-best university in Asia for international students.
14. Korea University
QS World University Ranking (2024): 79
International Student Ratio: 36.3%
Korea University is a private university in Seoul, South Korea that ranks 14th on our list of best universities in Asia for international students. The university has 4,452 international students with around 84% enrolled in undergraduate programs. Moreover, the university has an international-student ratio of 36.3%.
13. Yonsei University
QS World University Ranking (2024): 76
International Student Ratio: 49.7%
Yonsei University is another private university in Seoul. The university offers programs related to liberal arts, commerce and economics, business administration, sciences, and engineering. The university has 4,921 international students and ranks 13 on our list of best universities in Asia for international students.
12. City University of Hong Kong
QS World University Ranking (2024): 70
International Student Ratio: 100%
The City University of Hong Kong is situated in Hong Kong, the special administrative region of China. The university offers multiple undergraduate, master’s, and PhD level programs. Some of the popular master-level programs offered by the university include a Master of Business Administration, a Master in Applied Economics, a Master of Science in Business and Data Analytics, and more. The university charges $18,700 per year for international students.
11. Universiti Malaya (UM)
QS World University Ranking (2024): 65
International Student Ratio: 58.9%
The Universiti Malaya (UM) is a public research university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The university offers multiple programs including Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). The university has approximately 3,669 international students with 83% enrolled in postgraduate programs. The university ranks 11th on our list of best universities in Asia for international students.
10. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
QS World University Ranking (2024): 65
International Student Ratio: 87.4%
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is a public university in Hong Kong that ranks 10th on our list of best universities in Asia for international students. The university has 6,773 international students, with approximately 68% enrolled in postgraduate programs.
9. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
QS World University Ranking (2024): 60
International Student Ratio: 91.4%
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is a public research university in Hong Kong. Some of the prominent programs offered by the university include MPhil/PhD in Atmospheric Environmental Science, MPhil/PhD in Public Policy, and MSc in Technology Leadership and Entrepreneurship. The university charges a fee of approximately $18,000 per year from international students.
8. Shanghai Jiao Tong University
QS World University Ranking (2024): 51
International Student Ratio: 35.5%
The Shanghai Jiao Tong University is a public university in Shanghai, China that ranks 8th on our list of best universities in Asia for international students. The university has around 6,637 international students with approximately 62% enrolled in undergraduate programs. Moreover, the university has an international-student ratio of 35.5%.
7. Fudan University
QS World University Ranking (2024): 50
International Student Ratio: 33%
Fudan University is another public university situated in Shanghai, China. The university offers 175 master’s programs and 137 PhD programs for international students, out of which 47 are taught in English. The university has 5,322 international students and ranks 7th on our list of 20 best universities in Asia for international students.
6. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
QS World University Ranking (2024): 47
International Student Ratio: 77.1%
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is one of the top universities in Hong Kong with a strong emphasis on research. The university ranks 6th on our list of 20 best universities in Asia for international students. The university offers multiple programs related to arts, business administration, education, engineering, medicine, and sciences. Moreover, the university charges a fee of $19,000 per year to international students.
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Disclosure: None. 20 Best Universities in Asia for International Students is published on Insider Monkey.