The new edition of the QS World University Rankings is published today, based on an independent comparative analysis of more than 16,400 individual university courses. These courses come from over 1,500 universities in 95 countries and regions across 55 subjects, divided into five categories (arts and humanities, engineering and technology, life sciences and medicine, natural sciences, and social sciences and management). The results show that US universities are leading in 32 subject areas, twice as many as the UK, leading in 16. Harvard University is the strongest-performing university, leading in 19 subjects. It is followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which leads in 11.
Top 100 Universities in the World 2025
| 2024 RANK | 2023 RANK | Institution Name | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | United States |
| 2 | 2 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom |
| 3 | 4 | University of Oxford | United Kingdom |
| 4 | 5 | Harvard University | United States |
| 5 | 3 | Stanford University | United States |
| 6 | 6= | Imperial College London | United Kingdom |
| 7 | 9 | ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology | Switzerland |
| 8 | 11 | National University of Singapore (NUS) | Singapore |
| 9 | 8 | UCL | United Kingdom |
| 10 | 27 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | United States |
| 11 | 10 | University of Chicago | United States |
| 12 | 13 | University of Pennsylvania | United States |
| 13 | 20 | Cornell University | United States |
| 14 | 33 | The University of Melbourne | Australia |
| 15 | 6= | California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | United States |
| 16 | 18 | Yale University | United States |
| =17 | 12 | Peking University | China (Mainland) |
| =17 | 16= | Princeton University | United States |
| =19 | 45 | The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) | Australia |
| =19 | 41 | The University of Sydney | Australia |
| 21 | 34= | University of Toronto | Canada |
| 22 | 15 | The University of Edinburgh | United Kingdom |
| 23 | 22 | Columbia University | United States |
| 24 | 26 | Université PSL | France |
| 25 | 14 | Tsinghua University | China (Mainland) |
| =26 | 19 | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) | Singapore |
| =26 | 21 | The University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong, China |
| 28 | 24 | Johns Hopkins University | United States |
| 28 | 23 | The University of Tokyo | Japan |
| 29 | 44 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | United States |
| 30 | 31 | McGill University | Canada |
| 32 | 28 | The University of Manchester | United Kingdom |
| 33 | 25 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | United States |
| =34 | 30 | The Australian National University | Australia |
| =34 | 47 | University of British Columbia | Canada |
| 36 | 16= | EPFL | Switzerland |
| 37 | 49 | Technical University of Munich | Germany |
| =38 | 48 | Institut Polytechnique de Paris | France |
| =38 | 39 | New York University (NYU) | United States |
| 40 | 37 | King’s College London | United Kingdom |
| 41 | 29 | Seoul National University | South Korea |
| 42 | 57 | Monash University | Australia |
| 43 | 50= | The University of Queensland | Australia |
| =44 | 42= | Zhejiang University | China (Mainland) |
| 45 | 56 | The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) | United Kingdom |
| 46 | 36 | Kyoto University | Japan |
| =47 | 61= | Delft University of Technology | Netherlands |
| =47 | 32 | Northwestern University | United States |
| =47 | 38 | The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) | Hong Kong, China |
| 50 | 34= | Fudan University | China (Mainland) |
| 51 | 46 | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | China (Mainland) |
| 52 | 52 | Carnegie Mellon University | United States |
| 53 | 58 | University of Amsterdam | Netherlands |
| 54 | 59 | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München | Germany |
| 55 | 61= | University of Bristol | United Kingdom |
| 56 | 42= | KAIST – Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology | South Korea |
| 57 | 50= | Duke University | United States |
| 58 | 72 | University of Texas at Austin | United States |
| 59 | 60 | Sorbonne University | France |
| 60 | 40 | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | Hong Kong, China |
| 61 | 76 | KU Leuven | Belgium |
| 62 | 53 | University of California, San Diego (UCSD) | United States |
| 63 | 80 | University of Washington | United States |
| 64 | 85 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | United States |
| =65 | 65= | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | Hong Kong, China |
| =65 | 70 | Universiti Malaya (UM) | Malaysia |
| 67 | 64 | The University of Warwick | United Kingdom |
| 68 | 87 | The University of Auckland | New Zealand |
| 69 | 77 | National Taiwan University (NTU) | Taiwan, China |
| 70 | 54 | City University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong, China |
| 71 | 69 | Université Paris-Saclay | France |
| 72 | 90 | The University of Western Australia | Australia |
| =73 | 63 | Brown University | United States |
| =73 | 89 | KTH Royal Institute of Technology | Sweden |
| 75 | 86 | University of Leeds | United Kingdom |
| =76 | 81 | University of Glasgow | United Kingdom |
| =76 | 73 | Yonsei University | South Korea |
| 78 | 92 | Durham University | United Kingdom |
| 79 | 74 | Korea University | South Korea |
| 80 | 68 | Osaka University | Japan |
| =81 | 98 | Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin | Ireland |
| =81 | 78 | University of Southampton | United Kingdom |
| 83 | 93 | Pennsylvania State University | United States |
| 84 | 91 | University of Birmingham | United Kingdom |
| =85 | 95 | Lund University | Sweden |
| =85 | 115 | Universidade de São Paulo | Brazil |
| =87 | 75 | Lomonosov Moscow State University | Russia |
| =87 | 65= | Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg | Germany |
| 89 | 109 | The University of Adelaide | Australia |
| 90 | 137 | University of Technology Sydney | Australia |
| =91 | 55 | Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) | Japan |
| =91 | 83= | University of Zurich | Switzerland |
| =93 | 108 | Boston University | United States |
| =93 | 104= | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) | Mexico |
| =95 | 67 | Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) | Argentina |
| =95 | 96= | University of St Andrews | United Kingdom |
| 97 | 88 | Georgia Institute of Technology | United States |
| 98 | 118= | Freie Universitaet Berlin | Germany |
| 99 | 129= | Purdue University | United States |
| =100 | 71 | Pohang University of Science And Technology (POSTECH) | South Korea |
| =100 | 114 | University of Nottingham | United Kingdom |
What is meant by QS ranking?
The QS World University Rankings is an annual ranking of universities published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British international education market consultancy. QS initially partnered with The Times Higher Education (THE) to produce the THE-QS World University Rankings, first published in 2004. However, since 2010, the two have published rankings separately.
Why is QS ranking reliable?
QS ranking is one of the most influential university rankings in the world, with a long history, outstanding reputation and wide recognition.
Firstly, QS rankings adopt a complex and comprehensive methodology system, which covers multiple key factors, including academic reputation, employer reputation, teacher-student ratio, etc. Moreover, yearly, new metrics are designed to ensure the rankings’ multi-dimensionality and comprehensiveness. These factors together constitute the basis for evaluating the comprehensive strength of a university, making the ranking results more reference value.
Secondly, most of the data relied on by the rankings come from universities and survey institutions, which usually have high professionalism and credibility.
In addition, QS rankings also pay attention to transparency and openness. They publish detailed criteria, data sources, and calculation methods for the rankings, making the results more credible and persuasive.
How is QS subject ranking calculated 2025?
Generally, QS rankings are based on 4 categories and 6 indicators, including Research reputation, The learning and teaching environment, Research impact, and Internationalisation of the student experience.
Research reputation
This category aims to investigate the reputation of universities among professionals. The opinion weight of the academic reputation survey is around 40%, and that of the employer reputation survey is 10%~15%.
Academic reputation
QS will distribute questionnaires to academic professionals worldwide to ask their perceptions of the research standards within a specific field. Subsequently, QS will analyze and categorize the feedback received from these professionals according to their respective areas of expertise.
Employer Reputation
This factor measures the popularity of graduates in the job market based on a survey of graduate employers around the world. QS asks them what they think of graduates from each university in each subject and their willingness to recruit and arrive at each university’s employer reputation score.
The learning and teaching environment
This category calculates the student-faculty ratio within a university and is used to measure the size and quality of a university’s teaching. It is calculated by dividing the number of students by the number of faculty members. The more academic staff available per student, the more one can assume that an institution has adequately funded and resources for its teaching commitments. A lower student-faculty ratio generally means that students can receive more individual attention and guidance. This indicator is weighted at 10% ~ 20%.
Research impact
This metric reflects the impact and quality of academic research at a university, weighted at 20%. It is measured by calculating the number of citations per faculty member of the university’s research output. High citations generally indicate high originality and impact, all data from Elsevier Scopus.
Internationalisation
The two indicators of this category, the proportion of international students and the proportion of international teachers account for 5% each. This category evaluates the internationalization level of a university. A higher proportion helps to improve the global outlook and diversity of a university, as well as helps to enhance students’ cross-cultural communication ability.
In 2023, QS added three new metrics to address broader educational and social trends in addition to the six common indicators.
Sustainability
The 2022 QS International Student Survey found that 80% of students thought universities could do more for the environment, so they added a 5% sustainability perspective to the 2023 ranking factors.
Employment outcomes
QS believes that students’ employability is becoming increasingly important, so in 2023, it will increase the weight of employer reputation to 15% and the weight of employment outcomes to 5%.
International research network
This indicator provides explicit insights into the extent of international linkages in institutional research and the broader recognition of the importance of collaborative research.
These indicators comprehensively reflect the performance of universities in academic research, teaching quality, internationalization level and graduate employability. Therefore, QS rankings not only provide students and parents with a reference for choosing a university but also provide a direction for improvement and development for universities, which plays a vital role in developing and promoting global higher education.
QS ranking of UK universities
| 2024 RANK | 2023 RANK | Institution Name | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | University of Cambridge | Cambridge |
| 3 | 4 | University of Oxford | Oxford |
| 6 | 6= | Imperial College London | London |
| 9 | 8 | UCL | London |
| 22 | 15 | The University of Edinburgh | Edinburgh |
| 32 | 28 | The University of Manchester | Manchester |
| 40 | 37 | King’s College London | London |
| 45 | 56 | The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) | London |
| 55 | 61= | University of Bristol | Bristol |
| 67 | 64 | The University of Warwick | Coventry |
| 75 | 86 | University of Leeds | Leeds |
| =76 | 81 | University of Glasgow | Glasgow |
| 78 | 92 | Durham University | Durham |
| =81 | 78 | University of Southampton | Southampton |
| 84 | 91 | University of Birmingham | Birmingham |
| =95 | 96= | University of St Andrews | St Andrews |
| =100 | 114 | University of Nottingham | Nottingham |
In the QS World University Rankings 2025, 17 of the top 100 universities are from the UK, the same as last year. Cambridge University maintains its lead in the UK, while Oxford University is still ranked second in the UK but has moved up one place in the world rankings. In addition, Durham University has moved up 14 places since last year, reaching the world ranking of 78. Notably, the University of Nottingham has also increased 14 places in 2025, displacing The University of Sheffield into the top 100.
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FAQ
Most of the time, the QS rankings are the most cited and trusted. The QS rankings are known for their emphasis on academic reputation, research citations, and internationalization.
The QS UK University Rankings is a comprehensive evaluation and ranking of universities in the United Kingdom. This ranking is published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British international education market consulting company. The QS ranking covers five major disciplines: arts and humanities, social sciences and management, natural sciences, engineering and technology, life sciences and medicine, and comprehensively evaluates the comprehensive strength of universities according to multiple indicators.
According to the QS World University Rankings 2024, the University of Cambridge (2), University of Oxford (3), Imperial College London (6) and UCL (9) are among the top 10 universities in the world.
According to the QS World University Rankings 2024, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the best university in the world, with 100 points in six QS categories, including Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation and Employment Outcomes.
“QS 5 Star” refers to the highest rating in the QS rating system, which is “5 Star+”. This rating is the result of an objective and comprehensive evaluation of universities worldwide by Quacquarelli Symonds, an independent evaluation agency, according to a series of detailed criteria. These criteria mainly include six dimensions, namely teaching level, research level, internationalization level, employment level, school facilities and innovation ability.
QS usually evaluates universities based on six items: Academic reputation, Employer Reputation, the learning and teaching environment, Research impact, the proportion of international students, and the proportion of international teachers. In 2023, QS added three new metrics: Sustainability, Employment outcomes, and International research network.
