Best In The World
Everyone thinks they know which university deserves the crown, but rankings season always turns into academic chaos. So instead of debating in comment sections forever, Times Higher Education dug through mountains of real-world data and ranked more than 2,800 universities across the globe. From Ivy League powerhouses to international giants, we’re counting down the 50 schools that came out on top.
So—did your alma mater make the cut, or is this ranking about to start an argument?
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Methodology
Before we jump in, here is a quick look at the methodology used to come up with the rankings—which includes a scoring system based on five main areas (each with a weighted value). Those areas being:
Teaching (the learning environment): 29.5%
Teaching reputation: 15%, Staff-to-student ratio: 4.5%, Doctorate-to-bachelor’s ratio: 2%, Doctorates-awarded-to-academic-staff ratio: 5.5%, Institutional income: 2.5%
Research environment: 29%
Research reputation: 18%, Research income: 5.5%, Research productivity: 5.5%
Research quality: 30%
Citation impact: 15%, Research strength: 5%, Research excellence: 5%, Research influence: 5%
International outlook: 7.5%
Proportion of international students: 2.5%, Proportion of international staff: 2.5%, International collaboration: 2.5%
Industry: 4%
Industry income: 2%, Patents: 2%
Okay, here are the top 50...
50 (Tie): University Of Texas At Austin
Location: Austin, United States
Overall: 75.9
Teaching: 66.1
Research Environment: 76.3
Research Quality: 91.3
Industry: 82.6
International Outlook: 47.2
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 38 (2020)
Jr1038, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
50 (Tie): London School Of Economics And Political Science
Location: London, United Kingdom
Overall: 75.9
Teaching: 60.0
Research Environment: 72.0
Research Quality: 94.7
Industry: 45.1
International Outlook: 94.2
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 23 (2016)
49: Karolinska Institute
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Overall: 76.1
Teaching: 59.9
Research Environment: 67.1
Research Quality: 96.1
Industry: 95.9
International Outlook: 83.8
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 28 (2016, 2017)
Jenny Egnér Lin., CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
48: (Tie): Zhejiang University
Location: Zhejiang, China
Overall: 76.2
Teaching: 70.6
Research Environment: 76.6
Research Quality: 81.8
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 61.3
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 47 (2025)
Unravel17, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
48 (Tie): Universität Heidelberg
Location: Heidelberg, Germany
Overall: 76.2
Teaching: 65.6
Research Environment: 63.4
Research Quality: 95.2
Industry: 99.3
International Outlook: 78.5
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 37 (2016)
Oliver Fink, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
46: University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
Location: Urbana, United States
Overall: 76.5
Teaching: 66.4
Research Environment: 81.0
Research Quality: 84.1
Industry: 86.7
International Outlook: 63.2
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 36 (2016, 2017)
University of Illinois Research Park, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
45: McGill University
Location: Montreal, Canada
Overall: 76.7
Teaching: 66.2
Research Environment: 70.9
Research Quality: 88.6
Industry: 78.0
International Outlook: 91.6
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 38 (2016)
Jeangagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
44: The Chinese University Of Hong Kong
Location: Hong Kong SAR China
Overall: 76.8
Teaching: 60.8
Research Environment: 64.3
Research Quality: 97.8
Industry: 94.2
International Outlook: 94.6
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 44 (2025)
Memes, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
43: KU Leuven
Location: Leuven, Belgium
Overall: 77.0
Teaching: 59.5
Research Environment: 74.9
Research Quality: 92.4
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 80.6
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 35 (2016)
Wentao Jiang, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
42: Paris Sciences Et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris
Location: Paris, France
Overall: 77.7
Teaching: 74.4
Research Environment: 72.8
Research Quality: 82.0
Industry: 99.4
International Outlook: 80.4
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 40 (2022, 2024)
DanielE, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
41: University Of British Columbia
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Overall: 77.8
Teaching: 62.3
Research Environment: 76.7
Research Quality: 89.7
Industry: 79.8
International Outlook: 94.3
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 34 (2016, 2020, 2021)
Xicotencatl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
40: Georgia Institute Of Technology
Location: Atlanta, United States
Overall: 78.3
Teaching: 60.0
Research Environment: 77.7
Research Quality: 92.9
Industry: 99.2
International Outlook: 83.4
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 33 (2017, 2018)
Jonathan14605, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
39: University Of Melbourne
Location: Parkville, Australia
Overall: 78.4
Teaching: 64.2
Research Environment: 75.3
Research Quality: 89.1
Industry: 99.3
International Outlook: 92.3
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 31 (2021)
Polly clip, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
38: LMU Munich
Location: Munich, Germany
Overall: 78.7
Teaching: 65.2
Research Environment: 76.5
Research Quality: 91.7
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 76.4
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 29 (2016)
Seeott, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
37: (Tie): King’s College London
Location: London, UK
Overall: 78.8
Teaching: 60.1
Research Environment: 74.3
Research Quality: 97.2
Industry: 76.2
International Outlook: 97.2
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 27 (2016)
37: (Tie): Fudan University
Location: Shanghai, China
Overall: 78.8
Teaching: 78.2
Research Environment: 76.2
Research Quality: 85.4
Industry: 99.4
International Outlook: 53.8
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 36 (2025)
Behrooz Rezvani, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
35: University Of Hong Kong
Location: Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR China
Overall: 79.6
Teaching: 65.0
Research Environment: 70.5
Research Quality: 96.1
Industry: 96.3
International Outlook: 97.4
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 30 (2022)
Adon3465, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
34: University Of California, San Diego
Location: La Jolla, United States
Overall: 79.9
Teaching: 64.9
Research Environment: 75.8
Research Quality: 97.4
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 73.9
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 30 (2019)
RightCowLeftCoast, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
33: New York University
Location: New York, United States
Overall: 80.3
Teaching: 72.0
Research Environment: 76.8
Research Quality: 94.3
Industry: 71.7
International Outlook: 75.3
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 24 (2023)
32: École Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
Overall: 80.4
Teaching: 73.6
Research Environment: 72.4
Research Quality: 88.5
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 95.3
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 30 (2017)
Mediacom EPFL, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
31: Northwestern University
Location: Evanston, United States
Overall: 81.4
Teaching: 71.8
Research Environment: 75.8
Research Quality: 97.8
Industry: 92.3
International Outlook: 69.4
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 20 (2017, 2018)
Joshua Sukoff, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
30: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Location: Singapore
Overall: 81.8
Teaching: 65.8
Research Environment: 79.3
Research Quality: 94.5
Industry: 99.9
International Outlook: 94.1
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 30 (2025)
ENIAC78, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
29: University Of Edinburgh
Location: Edinburgh, UK
Overall: 82.5
Teaching: 72.2
Research Environment: 77.1
Research Quality: 95.7
Industry: 72.2
International Outlook: 96.6
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 24 (2016)
Jesús Quiles, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
28: The University Of Tokyo
Location: 13, Japan
Overall: 83.3
Teaching: 94.1
Research Environment: 94.2
Research Quality: 68.3
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 50.4
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 28 (2025)
Kakidai, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
27: Duke University
Location: Durham, United States
Overall: 83.4
Teaching: 77.7
Research Environment: 75.6
Research Quality: 96.2
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 75.5
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 17 (2018)
26: Technical University Of Munich
Location: Munich, Germany
Overall: 83.5
Teaching: 70.4
Research Environment: 86.0
Research Quality: 91.7
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 83.1
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 26 (2025)
Gras-Ober, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
25: University Of Washington
Location: Seattle, United States
Overall: 83.8
Teaching: 74.6
Research Environment: 81.3
Research Quality: 98.0
Industry: 84.7
International Outlook: 72.1
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 25 (2017, 2018, 2024, 2025)
Punctured Bicycle, Wikimedia Commons
24: Carnegie Mellon University
Location: Pittsburgh, United States
Overall: 85.7
Teaching: 73.1
Research Environment: 85.1
Research Quality: 99.0
Industry: 85.4
International Outlook: 84.2
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 22 (2016)
Dllu, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
23 (Tie): University Of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Location: Ann Arbor, United States
Overall: 87.7
Teaching: 84.3
Research Environment: 88.8
Research Quality: 95.4
Industry: 82.5
International Outlook: 68.2
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 20 (2019)
jeffwilcox, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
23 (Tie): UCL
Location: London, UK
Overall: 87.7
Teaching: 77.6
Research Environment: 86.2
Research Quality: 98.4
Industry: 74.9
International Outlook: 97.7
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 14 (2016, 2019)
DAVID ILIFF, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
21: University Of Toronto
Location: Toronto, Canada
Overall: 88.3
Teaching: 76.2
Research Environment: 93.5
Research Quality: 93.4
Industry: 94.9
International Outlook: 91.8
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 18 (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Sam Chan, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
20: Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, United States
Overall: 89.2
Teaching: 83.2
Research Environment: 91.1
Research Quality: 96.8
Industry: 69.5
International Outlook: 85.5
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 18 (2016)
Eustress, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
19: (Tie): University Of California, Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles, United States
Overall: 89.8
Teaching: 84.9
Research Environment: 92.1
Research Quality: 96.6
Industry: 89.0
International Outlook: 73.4
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 14 (2017)
Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
19: (Tie): Columbia University
Location: New York, United States
Overall: 89.8
Teaching: 86.4
Research Environment: 88.8
Research Quality: 96.9
Industry: 75.9
International Outlook: 85.4
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 11 (2022, 2023)
Momos, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
17: National University Of Singapore
Location: Singapore, Singapore
Overall: 89.9
Teaching: 78.4
Research Environment: 93.6
Research Quality: 95.7
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 91.9
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 17 (2025)
alex.ch., CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
16: Johns Hopkins University
Location: Baltimore, United States
Overall: 90.7
Teaching: 83.7
Research Environment: 91.3
Research Quality: 97.3
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 83.6
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 11 (2016)
Matthew Petroff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
15: (Tie): University Of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia, United States
Overall: 90.9
Teaching: 87.1
Research Environment: 90.7
Research Quality: 96.9
Industry: 98.3
International Outlook: 79.3
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 10 (2018)
15: (Tie): The University Of Chicago
Location: Chicago, United States
Overall: 90.9
Teaching: 88.4
Research Environment: 90.0
Research Quality: 97.4
Industry: 86.2
International Outlook: 81.1
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 9 (2018, 2020)
Rdsmith4, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
13: Peking University
Location: Haidian District, China
Overall: 92.0
Teaching: 94.9
Research Environment: 97.7
Research Quality: 88.2
Industry: 99.9
International Outlook: 70.1
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 13 (2025)
galaygobi, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
12: Tsinghua University
Location: Beijing, China
Overall: 92.5
Teaching: 95.4
Research Environment: 98.4
Research Quality: 93.5
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 49.8
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 12 (2024, 2025)
denn, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
11: ETH Zurich
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Overall: 93.0
Teaching: 87.3
Research Environment: 97.2
Research Quality: 95.1
Industry: 84.0
International Outlook: 95.3
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 9 (2016, 2017)
Tiankongguangzi, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
10: Yale University
Location: New Haven, United States
Overall: 94.1
Teaching: 93.7
Research Environment: 95.0
Research Quality: 97.8
Industry: 86.5
International Outlook: 82.3
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 8 (2019, 2020, 2021)
Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
9: Imperial College London
Location: London, UK
Overall: 94.4
Teaching: 89.3
Research Environment: 94.9
Research Quality: 98.5
Industry: 90.8
International Outlook: 98.3
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 8 (2016, 2017, 2018, 2024)
Shadowssettle, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
8: University Of California, Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, United States
Overall: 94.5
Teaching: 87.2
Research Environment: 98.9
Research Quality: 99.0
Industry: 99.5
International Outlook: 86.4
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 7 (2021)
Introvert, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
7: California Institute Of Technology
Location: Pasadena, United States
Overall: 96.3
Teaching: 95.2
Research Environment: 97.5
Research Quality: 97.3
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 89.7
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 1 (2016)
Canon.vs.nikon, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
6: Stanford University
Location: Stanford, United States
Overall: 97.2
Teaching: 97.5
Research Environment: 97.3
Research Quality: 99.6
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 85.1
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 2 (2021, 2024)
King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
5: University Of Cambridge
Location: Cambridge, UK
Overall: 97.4
Teaching: 95.9
Research Environment: 99.9
Research Quality: 97.6
Industry: 88.4
International Outlook: 97.1
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 2 (2018, 2019)
4: Princeton University
Location: Princeton, United States
Overall: 97.5
Teaching: 98.3
Research Environment: 98.0
Research Quality: 98.9
Industry: 96.9
International Outlook: 87.4
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 4 (2025)
Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
3: Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, United States
Overall: 97.7
Teaching: 97.3
Research Environment: 99.9
Research Quality: 99.3
Industry: 85.7
International Outlook: 90.1
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 2 (2022, 2023)
Marcio Jose Bastos Silva, Shutterstock
2: Massachusetts Institute Of Technology
Location: Cambridge, United States
Overall: 98.1
Teaching: 99.2
Research Environment: 96.0
Research Quality: 99.7
Industry: 100.0
International Outlook: 93.8
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 2 (2025)
Mys 721tx, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
1: University Of Oxford
Location: Oxford, UK
Overall: 98.5
Teaching: 96.8
Research Environment: 100.0
Research Quality: 98.8
Industry: 99.6
International Outlook: 97.3
Highest Ranking On The List Since 2016: 1 (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
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