Seoul National University has been ranked as the top medical school in Korea in the 2025 THE World University Rankings, released by the UK's Times Higher Education (THE). Globally, Seoul National University placed 44th.

Sungkyunkwan University and Yonsei University followed closely behind, ranking 50th and 60th respectively. These three universities were the only Korean institutions to break into the top 100. In total, 27 Korean universities made the list.

The 2025 THE World University Rankings for medical schools evaluate universities in medicine, dentistry, nursing, and other health-related fields. This year's rankings included 1,150 institutions from 102 countries and territories, assessed based on 18 performance indicators.

The evaluation criteria, published alongside the rankings, include:

Overall Score
Research Quality
Industry Collaboration
International Outlook
Research Environment
Teaching Quality
Number of FTE Students
Number of Students per Staff
International Student Ratio
Female:Male Ratio
THE explained that the medical and health subject rankings use the same rigorous performance indicators as the 2025 World University Rankings, but the methodology has been adapted to suit the specific field of medicine.

However, THE noted that Asian universities, despite the presence of 157 million citations, 18 million research publications, and survey responses from over 93,000 academics worldwide, still face challenges in global competition.

Apart from the three universities in the top 100, many Korean institutions were ranked below 400th. Nevertheless, six universities managed to secure positions between 101st and 400th.

These include:

Korea University (151-175)
Ajou University (251-300)
Kyung Hee University (251-300)
Hanyang University (301-400)
Catholic University (301-400)
Ulsan University (301-400)
A significant number of universities were ranked below 400th, with 18 institutions falling into this category.

In the 401-500 range, the following universities were ranked:

Chonnam National University
Chung-Ang University
Ewha Womans University
Gachon University
Kyungpook National University
Pusan National University
Soonchunhyang University
In the 601-800 range:

Chungbuk National University
Chungnam National University
Gyeongsang National University
Hallym University
Inha University
Jeonbuk National University
Yeungnam University
In the 801-1000 range:

Chosun University
Dankook University
Jeju National University
Kangwon National University
However, there were opinions that there was a significant difference between the hospital rankings announced by the US Newsweek, and that balanced development in various areas such as medical treatment and research was necessary.

An official from a university hospital said, "The big difference between hospital rankings and university rankings seems to be due to the difference in evaluation criteria such as medical treatment and research." "It will be necessary to promote overall quality improvement based on the balanced development of the two fields."

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