This article is fully translated from the original news published by Universitas Gadjah Mada Official Website
Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has once again recorded an impressive achievement in the QS World University Rankings (WUR) by Subject 2026. In the field of Theology, Divinity, and Religious Studies, UGM successfully reached 45th place globally, improving from the previous year when it was ranked in the 51–100 range worldwide. This accomplishment also places UGM as the number one university in Indonesia in this field, followed by Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII), Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, and Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, which are ranked in the 101–150 range globally.
UGM’s rise to 45th place in the world highlights the success of its program management in the field of Theology, Divinity, and Religious Studies in maintaining and consistently improving academic quality and global reputation amid increasingly intense competition at both national and international levels.
The Dean of UGM Graduate School, Prof. Ir. Siti Malkhamah, M.Sc., Ph.D., IPU., ASEAN.Eng., expressed her gratitude for this achievement. She stated that this success brings renewed motivation to continue improving quality in the future, while also serving as an important milestone in strengthening confidence in UGM as a world-class university. “I believe this achievement is encouraging and motivates us to do even better in the future, while also boosting our confidence that UGM is a world-class university,” she said in an interview on Wednesday (April 8).
According to Siti, the interdisciplinary approach that characterizes UGM Graduate School has strengthened its competitiveness in global rankings. Various study programs are conducted across disciplines, involving lecturers from different faculties as well as national and international partners. Contributions to the field of Theology, Divinity, and Religious Studies come from programs such as the Master’s Program in Religion and Cross-Cultural Studies (ALB), the Doctoral Program in Inter-Religious Studies (IRS), and the Doctoral Program in Islamic Economics and Halal Industry, all of which consistently develop academic and research collaborations. These three programs serve as key strengths in enhancing academic reputation at the global level. “The Graduate School organizes interdisciplinary programs with reputable lecturers from various fields and collaborates with partners in implementing the Tri Dharma of Higher Education,” she explained.
The interdisciplinary approach developed by UGM Graduate School has also strengthened performance indicators in the QS WUR by Subject rankings. Compared to the previous year, research-based indicators have shown significant improvement, with citations per paper increasing from 82 to 83.3 and the H-index rising from 51 to a stronger reflected score of 77.5. In addition, the academic reputation indicator reached a score of 67.6, while employer reputation reached 66.9. “This improvement shows that not only research productivity is strengthening, but also international recognition of the institution’s quality and study programs is increasing,” she added.
The Head of the IRS Program at UGM, Drs. Agus Wahyudi, M.Si., M.A., Ph.D., stated that the improved ranking within the global top 100 is driven by a combination of stronger academic reputation and research productivity. In terms of academic reputation, he explained that the Inter-Religious Studies (IRS) Program at UGM is one of the leading centers for interfaith studies in the Global South. Its excellence is supported by a dialogical and contextual approach, as well as the relevance of its studies to global issues such as political polarization, religious freedom, digital inclusion, and environmental concerns.
Regarding citations per paper, he noted that many publications produced by IRS faculty have been widely cited, especially those addressing intersections with global issues such as religion, democracy, and peace. “As a result, the IRS program at UGM is not only recognized but also widely referenced. This combination has been key to the ranking improvement from the previous year,” he said.
This achievement did not occur by chance. He emphasized that it is the result of well-directed strategies focusing on publications in internationally reputable journals such as Scopus-indexed journals, particularly in Q1 and Q2 quartiles, covering relevant themes such as pluralism, religious conflict, and social justice. These efforts are also supported by international research collaborations across countries, which enhance visibility and accelerate global citation growth. Additionally, strengthening a research culture based on strategic issues has contributed to more significant scholarly contributions in global discourse. “The focus of IRS is not merely increasing the number of publications, but also enhancing the ‘citability’ of knowledge—from local relevance to global reference,” he explained.
Looking ahead, IRS UGM aims not only to improve rankings but also to strengthen its academic impact. This will be achieved through deeper scholarly contributions to global issues such as peace, diversity, and social justice, improving the quality of internationally reputable publications, and expanding cross-country academic networks. He expressed hope that the IRS Program at UGM can break into the global Top 30 in the coming years, positioning such achievement as a result of strengthened scholarly impact. “IRS does not pursue rankings alone, but relevance—both domestically and globally. From there, rankings will follow,” he concluded.