THE world university rankings 2026

What aspects do you take into account while selecting which institutions to apply to? Do you make decisions based on the university's global ranking?

You can use the world university rankings to learn more about your university and its reputation, even if it shouldn't be the sole determining factor.

In this article, you’ll find the most recent Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

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What is Times Higher Education Ranking?

The Times Higher Education magazine publishes the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE), a list of universities ranked annually. Since its implementation in 2010, the current approach for the rankings has been more rigorous, transparent, and resilient.

The process is founded on input gathered from specialists in the study abroad sector and expert consultations. It consists of a survey, an analysis of research papers, and their citations. The rankings for THE are among the world's most esteemed ranking lists.

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Times Higher Education World University Rankings – Overview

1,904 institutions are ranked in 104 countries and regions by the 2026 THE Rankings. It presents itself as the most comprehensive and varied university rankings available.
The University of Oxford, Stanford University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are the top three universities.
The USA makes up the bulk of universities.
India is now the fourth most-represented nation on the list with 91 institutions.
Based on THE’s recently developed WUR 3.0 approach, the table evaluates an institution's performance in five areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and worldwide outlook. It does so by utilising eighteen carefully calibrated performance indicators.
Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 comprised survey responses from 68,402 researchers worldwide and analysed over 134 million citations from 16.5 million scholarly papers. They received data submissions from over 2,673 institutions, totalling 411,789 data points.

Also read: Universities with High Acceptance rate

Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026

Rank	Name	Overall
1	University of Oxford, United Kingdom	98.2
2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States	97.7
=3	Princeton University, United States	97.2
=3	University of Cambridge, United Kingdom	97.2
=5	Harvard University, United States	97.1
=5	Stanford University, United States	97.1
7	California Institute of Technology, United States	96.3
8	Imperial College London, United Kingdom	94.7
9	University of California, Berkeley, United States	94.4
10	Yale University, United States	94.1
11	ETH Zurich, Switzerland	93.1
12	Tsinghua University, China	93
13	Peking University, China	92.3
14	University of Pennsylvania, United States	90.8
15	The University of Chicago, United States	90.6
16	Johns Hopkins University, United States	90.1
17	National University of Singapore, Singapore	89.7
18	Cornell University, United States	89.5
18	University of California, Los Angeles, United States	89.5
20	Columbia University, United States	89.4
21	University of Toronto, Canada	88.5
22	UCL, United Kingdom	87.5
23	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, United States	86.9
24	Carnegie Mellon University. United States	85
25	University of Washington. United States	83.7
26	The University of Tokyo. Japan	83.5
27	Technical University of Munich. Germany	83.4
28	Duke University, United States	82.9
29	University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom	82.5
30	Northwestern University, United States	81.9
=31	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Singapore	81.6
=31	New York University, United States	81.6
33	University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong	80.5
34	LMU Munich, Germany	79.7
35	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland	79.6
36	Fudan University, China	79.3
37	University of Melbourne, Australia	79
38	King’s College London, United Kingdom	78.7
39	Zhejiang University, China	78.3
40	Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China	77.6
=41	Georgia Institute of Technology, United States	77.1
=41	McGill University, Canada	77.1
=41	The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong	77.1
=41	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States	77.1
45	University of British Columbia, Canada	77
46	KU Leuven, Belgium	76.8
47	University of California, San Diego, United States	76.6
48	Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris, France	76.5
49	Universität Heidelberg, Germany	76.3
50	University of Texas at Austin, United States	75.8
51	University of Science and Technology of China, China	75.7
52	London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom	75.4
=53	Karolinska Institute, Sweden	75
=53	The University of Sydney, Australia	75
=53	University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States	75
56	University of Manchester, United Kingdom	74.9
57	Delft University of Technology, Netherlands	74.3
=58	Monash University, Australia	74.1
=58	Seoul National University, South Korea	74.1
=58	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong	74.1
61	Kyoto University, Japan	74
=62	Nanjing University, China	73.7
=62	University of Amsterdam, Netherlands	73.7
64	University of California, Davis, United States	72.8
65	Brown University, United States	72.6
66	Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands	72.2
67	Washington University in St Louis, United States	72
=68	Institut Polytechnique de Paris, France	71.6
=68	Université Paris-Saclay, France	71.6
=70	Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea	71.3
=70	Leiden University, Netherlands	71.3
72	University of California, Santa Barbara, United States	71.2
=73	Australian National University, Australia	71.1
=73	City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong	71.1
=73	University of Southern California, United States	71.1
=76	Boston University, United States	70.4
=76	Sorbonne University, France	70.4
78	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States	70.3
79	UNSW Sydney, Australia	70
=80	The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong	69.7
=80	The University of Queensland, Australia	69.7
=80	University of Bristol, United Kingdom	69.7
82	University of Groningen, Netherlands	69.3
84	University of Glasgow, United Kingdom	68.9
85	Purdue University West Lafayette, United States	68.8
86	Yonsei University (Seoul campus), South Korea	68.5
87	Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), South Korea	68.3
88	University of Minnesota, United States	67.5
89	Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany	67.2
90	University of Copenhagen, Denmark	67.1
91	Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany	66.9
=92	RWTH Aachen University, Germany	66.7
=92	University of Bonn, Germany	66.7
=92	Vanderbilt University, United States	66.7
=95	Lund University, Sweden	66.6
=95	University of Vienna, Austria	66.6
97	University of California, Irvine, United States	66.4
=98	KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden	66.3
=98	University of Birmingham, United Kingdom	66.3
=98	University of Tübingen, Germany	66.3
101	Aarhus University, Denmark	66.2

What is important to remember regarding the rankings list?

Before choosing to utilise the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 to direct your study abroad experience, keep the following points in mind:

It is possible that the top-ranked schools aren't the best for all courses or evaluation standards. Seek the best universities in your chosen field of study.
Choosing a university shouldn't be based solely on rankings.
If you have been paying careful attention to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, you must be aware that the majority of the top 10 positions are consistently held by the same universities.

Not every institution is able to reach the top of the ranking. However, this does not imply that other universities are inferior.

Also Read: Top 100 Universities in the world | Top 10 Universities in the World

Times Higher Education World University Rankings provide a thorough picture of institutional performance and academic quality around the world. Use these rankings to find colleges that fit your academic objectives and aspirations as you start your educational journey.

Explore diverse study options and prestigious institutions with Edvoy, a trusted partner in connecting students with top-ranked universities worldwide. Take the next step towards your academic success and discover the world of opportunities awaiting you.