World University Rankings

Concerns around scholars using excessive self-citations are valid, but banning them entirely is not the right approach, says David Watkins 

Flagship higher education event on 7-9 October 2025 to focus on ‘Universities as agents of change’

Irene Tracey says policymakers and universities need to work together to tackle funding crisis

In a turbulent period for HE and beyond, university leaders are determined to make their work count

Institutions are setting the scene for a thriving international system post-war

Half of sector goes backwards in this year’s table, as international student caps threaten more damage

No elite US university finishes in the top 50 for the international outlook pillar, a category that is dominated by the United Arab Emirates at the top and the UK lower down

The distribution of countries’ ranking positions reveals new insights

The US has a new leader, while Brazil and the UAE join the top 200

Oxford breaks record at number one spot, defying trend of declining UK reputation 

The number of ranked Chinese institutions is back up, while Turkey has also experienced fast growth

We’re launching two brand-new rankings this autumn, while fine-tuning our established analyses, writes Duncan Ross

‘SWAT team’ of finance experts and science writers helps university secure more federal research funds than any other US institution, says its vice-provost for research

Monash vice-chancellor discusses universities' progress on preventing gender-based abuse and the 'flattening effect' on internationalisation 

With many of the world’s top universities sporting new heads, and tenures shrinking, experts call for initiatives to develop future leaders

Dartmouth College president discusses seeking criticism, prioritising mental health and getting more women into engineering

Leadership troubles at two Parisian mega-universities reflect ongoing debates around governance and academic culture, says Jean-Yves Mérindol

Indian Institute of Science director discusses opening a new medical school and receiving the country’s largest philanthropic university gift

Research suggests some widespread initiatives don’t work, and some even lead to a decrease in academic diversity. So why do they continue to be rolled out? And what should institutions try instead? Rosa Ellis reports

Sheffield vice-chancellor discusses including innovation in promotions criteria and carving a distinct identity for the university

If AI is to transform education, assessment must be rebooted and developers must make leaps in understanding the learning process, experts say. Rosa Ellis reports

The Florida Tech president on creating a 'living, breathing' strategic plan, the explosion of the space industry and why diversity matters

Academics and students are getting older, on average. Do universities need to adapt to manage a community with a widening age span?

We compile our World University Rankings from information supplied by institutions across the globe, which is scrutinised and considered against the criteria here

Outgoing Erasmus University Rotterdam president discusses the underappreciated value of the social sciences, managing student protests and the differences between Dutch and German higher education

Milestone marks biggest rise in number of ranked universities in five years

African participation surpasses North America for the first time

Increase in female leaders driven by Europe as US stagnates

Universities that are ranked by Times Higher Education tend to have healthy levels of prestige, write David Watkins and Mark Caddow

The president of Aalto University talks about leading a nationwide flexible learning effort, and why he’s been standing up for an ‘international Finland’

Elsewhere, Australia and UK improve, but tightening immigration policies could threaten progress

Universities are invited to participate, as the portal for our global research-focused ranking opens

There is no single or ‘correct’ way to rank universities – and that’s a very good thing, writes Phil Baty

A look at the most-read THE university rankings articles from the past 12 months

Online Learning Rankings will benchmark universities on resources, outcomes, student engagement and learning environment 

While Covid has perforated the rankings bubble of the front runners, better commercial engagement and refined research measures have boosted much of the middle tier

Asia saw the largest rise of all continents in research quality, teaching score, and overall performance in the latest World University Rankings

Hong Kong and the Netherlands lead new THE metrics measuring research strength, excellence and influence 

Southeast Asian country has made big gains on student-staff ratio since 2020, while Hungary has improved on share of postgraduate researchers

UK universities are overwhelmingly represented at the top of the international outlook pillar

The World University Rankings have grown and developed to reflect the changing global higher education sector, writes Ellie Bothwell 

North America has also revived while Oceania’s international outlook has dipped. Patrick Jack picks out key rankings trends

European nations have the highest research income levels, but Hong Kong and Australia surpass them in research productivity

UK and US universities struggle to keep pace with top Asian performers as research funding shares decline

We’re gathering data on interdisciplinary science and online learning, and making improvements to some of our existing rankings, to capture insights on more of the work that universities do, says THE’s chief data officer 

WUR expands industry pillar to include patents in country scores, with greatest gains by Ireland, Hong Kong and the US

UC Davis’ chancellor, Gary May, has plenty of background in attracting minority students, but finds California’s decades-old ban on race-based admissions a formidable foe

Canterbury’s vice-chancellor contrasts her adopted island homeland with her native South Africa and reflects on the opportunities spawned by even the worst horrors

Daniel Diermeier reflects on traversing the increasingly polarised US political landscape and on disagreeing with staff and students pressing for the university to take sides

Focusing on the quality of in-person teaching is only one way to make returning to physical campuses more appealing, says Carolyn Evans

Folasade Ogunsola discusses her country’s battle with brain drain and universities’ search for ‘creative’ ways to combat funding shortfalls

The methodology for the 20th edition of the World University Rankings has been significantly updated to reflect the outputs of the diverse range of research-intensive universities across the world

THE’s SSA advisory board launches with members from countries across the region

The 20th edition is our most robust, inclusive and global ranking, thanks to significant improvements to our methodology

Institutional partnerships are on the rise, but the sector must do even more to join forces to tackle global challenges, writes Linda G. Mills

Lund University vice-chancellor discusses the challenges of working with business, creating an innovation valley in the Baltic region and managing one’s friends

Nancy Ip discusses how universities can boost their output of patents and support faculty entrepreneurs

Monterrey Institute of Technology’s president says it is setting aside £46 million for international hires to compete with the global standard of living

From just 200 universities to almost 2,000, the World University Rankings have become more global and more inclusive. Ellie Bothwell goes through the archives to examine the most noteworthy developments  

Collaboration has been a hallmark of THE’s rankings for the past 20 years. This is how we’ve worked with the global sector to produce league tables that meet the needs of universities