Publishing from Malaysia: university publication rules
We found no single national graduation rule for publishing in Malaysia; the rules we found are set by universities. At Universiti Malaya's Institute for Advanced Studies a science PhD needs proof of acceptance for two articles in Web of Science journals. At UKM's Institute of Ethnic Studies a PhD needs two Scopus or Web of Science articles, or one of those plus a UKM journal article or book chapter.
Every rule below links to the official document it comes from. Read on 10 October 2026.
What the rules ask
We found no national rule; the graduate publication rules we found in Malaysia are set by universities. The examples here are Universiti Malaya (UM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). UM also refuses journals blacklisted by the Ministry of Higher Education.
Universiti Malaya: A paper counts if it is a full research or review article in a journal indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, ESCI, the ERA list, MyCite, MyJurnal or Jurnal Universiti Malaya. (source: Universiti Malaya (UM), read 10 October 2026)
Universiti Malaya: The supervisor must be a co-author and the corresponding author. The candidate is first author, or comes after the supervisors. (source: Universiti Malaya (UM), read 10 October 2026)
Universiti Malaya: Journals blacklisted by the Ministry of Higher Education are not accepted, and a candidate who has not met the requirement by the end of the maximum candidature is terminated. (source: Universiti Malaya (UM), read 10 October 2026)
Universiti Malaya, Institute for Advanced Studies: PhD: science candidates need proof of acceptance for two articles in Web of Science journals. Other fields need one Web of Science article, one Scopus Q1 or Q2 article, or two Scopus, ESCI or ERA articles. (source: Universiti Malaya, Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS), read 10 October 2026)
Universiti Malaya, Institute for Advanced Studies: MPhil: one Web of Science article in the sciences; one Web of Science, Scopus, ESCI or ERA article in other fields. (source: Universiti Malaya, Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS), read 10 October 2026)
UKM, Institute of Ethnic Studies: PhD students admitted from 2019/2020 need two Scopus or Web of Science articles, or one of those plus a UKM journal article or a chapter from a listed publisher. A publisher's acceptance letter is enough. (source: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), read 10 October 2026)
Check the references: Reference Check flags retracted papers, broken DOIs and citations missing from the list.
Questions
At UM, is an accepted paper enough or must it be published?
UM's institute asks for proof of acceptance, and the Senate guideline says the acceptance must fall within your candidature.
Can I publish without my supervisor?
Not for UM's graduation requirement. The supervisor is a co-author and the corresponding author. A supervisor who wants to be left off must, with the candidate, submit a written agreement with strong justification to the faculty dean.
Do MyCite journals count?
At UM, yes: MyCite and MyJurnal are on the Senate's list. Other universities keep their own lists, so check yours.
ORBIT