YOGYAKARTA — UIN Sunan Kalijaga has secured the 7th position worldwide in religious studies in the 2026 SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR) by subject, placing the Indonesian university ahead of several leading global institutions, including Harvard University.

The result underscores the university’s growing international standing as a center for religious scholarship, driven by sustained investment in research, innovation, and societal impact.

Rector Prof. Noorhaidi Hasan attributed the achievement to collective academic efforts in strengthening the university’s core missions of teaching, research, and community engagement. He noted that SCImago evaluates institutions based on research performance (50%), innovation output (30%), and social impact (20%), using publication and citation data as key indicators.

The ranking reinforces UIN Sunan Kalijaga’s global trajectory, following its earlier placement among the world’s top 37 institutions in Theology, Divinity, and Religious Studies in the QS World University Rankings by Subject.

Founded in 1951, UIN Sunan Kalijaga is Indonesia’s oldest state Islamic university. The latest ranking highlights the continued relevance and competitiveness of religious studies—long considered the institution’s academic core—within an increasingly competitive global higher education landscape.

The SCImago results also reflect strong performance in other fields, including law, where the university ranks among the top five nationally.

University officials said the achievement will serve as a strategic foundation to expand impactful research and strengthen its position as a globally recognized academic institution.