UNIST has proudly maintained its position as Korea's top university in research quality according to the renowned CWTS Leiden Ranking, marking an unbroken nine-year streak. This consistent achievement underscores UNIST's sustained excellence in research output and reaffirms its competitive standing on the global scientific stage.
The Center for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University announced the 2025 CWTS Leiden Ranking in October 2025. UNIST ranked No. 203 worldwide in the 'Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition,' which evaluates institutions based on citation impact of SCI-indexed papers. Notably, UNIST demonstrated a 12.6% rate of publications within the top 10% of citations, securing the top position among Korean universities.
UNIST ranked No. 1 nationwide in the '2025 Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition,' marking an unbroken nine-year steak. l Image Credit: CTWS Leiden Ranking
Since first entering the ranking in 2017, UNIST has maintained its top position in Korea every year. Despite a slight decrease in the proportion of high-impact papers compared to the previous year, the university reaffirmed its leadership in research excellence.
A key achievement was UNIST's top ranking in the fractional counting method, which accounts for author contribution by dividing credit according to the number of co-authors. This confirms that UNIST researchers' actual contributions are among the highest nationally.
In disciplinary rankings, UNIST's performance is particularly distinguished. It maintained its top position among Korean institutions in the 'Physical Science and Engineering' category, which accounts for the largest volume of publications. Additionally, the 'Life and Earth Sciences' category saw a remarkable rise, jumping 43 places globally to reach approximately the 130th position.
UNIST maintained its top position among Korean institutions in the 'Physical Science and Engineering' category for the 2025 edition of CWTS Leiden Ranking. l Image Credit: CTWS Leiden Ranking
The traditional edition assesses research quality based on the number of SCI publications and the proportion of papers in the top 10% of citations. Only universities that have published more than 800 SCI papers over four years are included.
The 2025 assessment included 1,594 universities from 77 countries worldwide and 52 domestic Korean institutions. The analysis considered papers published between 2020 and 2023 and adjusted for contribution levels in co-authored works to ensure an accurate evaluation of each university's research impact.
Globally, MIT secured the top position this year, with top U.S. institutions, such as Princeton University, Caltech, Harvard University, and Stanford University also ranking in the top five.
Within Korea, UNIST claimed the top spot, followed by POSTECH, KAIST, Sejong University, and Yeungnam University in the top five.
President Chong Rae Park stated, "This achievement demonstrates UNIST's ongoing ability to produce high-impact, world-class research," adding, "We will continue to foster challenging and innovative studies to lead the global advancement of science and technology, growing into a university that shapes the future."
