World University Rankings 2026

Explore the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 below. Trusted worldwide by students, academics, governments and industry experts, the list of the best universities in the world includes 2,191 institutions from 115 countries and territories.

University rankings 2026: highlights

• Oxford retains the number one spot for the tenth consecutive year, driven by strong research environment score
• Princeton rises to joint third place, and is the only US university to achieve its best-ever finish this year
• China has five universities in top 40, up from three last year, but top universities remain steady
• Hong Kong occupies a record six spots in the top 200 as a result of improvements in teaching metrics
• India now has the second highest number of ranked universities for the first time, behind only the US

Top Universities by Ranking Body (2026):

• QS World University Rankings 2026 (Released June 2025):
  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – USA
  2. Imperial College London – UK
  3. Stanford University – USA
  4. University of Oxford – UK
• Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026 (Released Oct 2025):
  1. University of Oxford – UK
  2. Harvard University – USA
  3. Princeton University – USA (Joint 3rd) / MIT (Joint 3rd) 

Key Trends in 2026 Rankings:

• Asian Representation: China and Hong Kong saw record numbers of universities in the top tiers, while India became the second most-represented country in THE rankings, notes Hindustan Times.
• MIT’s Dominance: MIT continues its strong performance, topping the QS rankings and ranking highly with THE, according to Top Universities and QS Quacquarelli Symonds.
• Oxford’s Strength: Oxford maintains its top position in THE rankings due to a powerful research environment, as highlighted by Times Higher Education.