- Institution records 11.9% share of top-10% cited papers in 2026 Leiden Ranking

UNIST researchers discuss semiconductor development processes at the institute's nano-device fabrication lab. [UNIST]
UNIST researchers discuss semiconductor development processes at the institute's nano-device fabrication lab. [UNIST]

The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology has ranked first among domestic universities in the Leiden Ranking, a global assessment of university research competitiveness, for 10 consecutive years.

UNIST announced Wednesday that it recorded an 11.9% share of papers in the top 10% by citations in the 2026 Leiden Ranking, published by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University in the Netherlands, placing it first among South Korean universities. Its global ranking stands at 299th.

The Leiden Ranking evaluates research impact based on citation performance of papers published in international academic journals, rather than institutional reputation or educational conditions. Its core indicator is the proportion of papers that rank in the top 10% by citation count within the same year and academic field.

UNIST has held the top domestic position every year since it was first included in the ranking in 2017. This year's edition also marks a milestone as the final traditional edition based on the Web of Science database.

By field, UNIST stood out in physical sciences and engineering, where its share of top-10% cited papers reached 13.4% — first in South Korea and 189th globally — extending its domestic lead from last year.

This year's ranking covered 1,618 universities across 78 countries, with 51 South Korean institutions included. Eligibility required universities to have published at least 800 papers in international academic journals between 2021 and 2024.

An aerial view of the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology campus. [Herald DB]
An aerial view of the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology campus. [Herald DB]

UNIST's top domestic ranking reflects the application of a "fractional counting" method, which allocates credit for co-authored papers proportionally based on each participating institution's contribution. This approach allows for a more precise comparison of research impact than the full-counting method, which credits each co-authoring institution with a complete paper.

Under the same fractional-counting standard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked first globally, followed by Princeton University, the California Institute of Technology, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and Stanford University.

CWTS announced it will discontinue the traditional Web of Science-based edition after this year. Starting next year, it will publish only an "open edition" using OpenAlex, an open-access academic information database.

"Maintaining the top position in the domestic Leiden Ranking for 10 consecutive years is the fruit of the outstanding research capabilities our faculty and researchers have built up over time," UNIST President Park Jong-rae said. "We will continue to produce results that draw the attention of the global academic community through bold and creative research, and strengthen our competitiveness as a world-class research university."


nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com