Academic reputation is not built overnight. It emerges from consistent research, disciplined attention to publication quality, and long-term work that often takes place far from the public eye. Amid increasingly research-driven competition among universities, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta has once again marked a significant achievement. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, UIN Sunan Kalijaga ranks second nationally among State Islamic Religious Higher Education Institutions (PTKIN) in terms of the number of Scopus-indexed journals, with five journals now indexed. This places the university just one position behind UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, which holds eight Scopus-indexed journals, with several other PTKINs trailing below this achievement.

This achievement forms part of a broader national success, following the entry of 56 PTKIN journals into the Scopus index. The Ministry of Religious Affairs views this development as an indicator of a strengthening academic culture and growing international recognition for Indonesia's Islamic higher education institutions. The achievement is made even more notable by the fact that four of UIN Sunan Kalijaga's journals had already earned Scopus recognition prior to this: Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies (Q1), Journal of Qur'an and Hadith Studies (Q1), Al-Ahwal: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Islam (Q1), and Jurnal Pendidikan Agama Islam (Q1). The fifth journal, newly indexed in Scopus, is Al-Mazaahib: Jurnal Perbandingan Hukum, managed by the Faculty of Sharia and Law at UIN Sunan Kalijaga. This achievement further strengthens the university's portfolio of internationally reputable journals.

For UIN Sunan Kalijaga, the number five is far more than a statistic. Behind it lies a long process of building journal management practices that meet international standards, spanning article quality, a rigorous peer review process, publication continuity, and collaboration with authors and reviewers from various countries. Entering Scopus means a journal has passed an evaluation process that tests its scientific quality, publication ethics, consistency, and academic impact.

This achievement further strengthens UIN Sunan Kalijaga's position as one of the centers of knowledge production among PTKINs. In recent years, the university has shown a consistent upward trend, not only in the number of reputable journals, but also in the productivity of international publications and citation impact among its academic community. Based on SciVal and Scopus data for the 2025–2026 period, UIN Sunan Kalijaga is even recorded as the PTKIN with the highest number of international publications and citations nationally.

The achievement of five Scopus-indexed journals stands as evidence that academic transformation at UIN Sunan Kalijaga extends beyond simply increasing the volume of research. The university is building a knowledge ecosystem, one in which lecturers, researchers, students, editors, and international partners work together within a shared space to produce publications at the global level.

This momentum also demonstrates that PTKINs are no longer viewed solely as religiously based educational institutions, but also as centers of innovation and knowledge development actively participating in global academic discourse. The Ministry of Religious Affairs has described the rising number of Scopus-indexed journals as a reflection of a strengthening research culture, as well as a long-term investment in the international academic reputation of Indonesia.

For UIN Sunan Kalijaga, this second-place national ranking is not a finish line. On the contrary, it marks a step further along the path toward becoming a world-class research university. While the public often focuses only on rankings and awards, what the university is truly building is something far more fundamental: a scholarly culture that continues to generate knowledge, strengthen global networks, and ensure that ideas originating from Yogyakarta help shape the ongoing development of knowledge worldwide. (humassk)