QS World University Rankings 2025 Unveiled: Oxbridge Overhauled, US Underwhelming, India Improving

LONDON, June 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- QS Quacquarelli Symonds released the 21st edition of the QS World University Rankings, the only ranking system to measure both employability and sustainability performance. For the thirteenth consecutive year, MIT leads the table, though two-thirds of the United States' ranked universities have dropped in the last year. Imperial College London jumps four places to rank 2nd; the University of Oxford and Harvard University remain 3rd and 4th respectively; the University of Cambridge rounds out the top five. Caltech is the only institution to break into the top 10.

 

2024

2023

QS World University Rankings 2025: Top 20

1

1

MIT

US

2

6

Imperial College London

UK

3

3

University of Oxford

UK

4

4

Harvard University

US

5

2

University of Cambridge

UK

6

5

Stanford University

US

7

7

ETH Zurich

Switzerland

8

8

National University of Singapore

Singapore

9

9

UCL

UK

10

15

Caltech

US

11

12

UPenn

12

10

University of California, Berkeley

13

14

The University of Melbourne

Australia

14

17

Peking University

China (Mainland)

15

26

Nanyang Technological University

Singapore

16

13

Cornell University

US

17

26

The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong SAR

18

19

The University of Sydney

Australia

19

19

UNSW Sydney

20

25

Tsinghua University

China (Mainland)

  • The UK is home to three of the world's top five, but over half of its universities have dropped.
  • The University of Toronto receives the world's leading score for Sustainability, with UBC (4th) and Western University (10th) also among the top ten for this indicator. However, the sector records an indifferent year overall.
  • Eight of Australia's highest-ranked universities have improved their position this year. Three Australian institutions are among the global top-20.
  • Among China's five top-100 universities, four have risen. Peking University (14th) is national #1, rising three spots.
  • India has shown remarkable progress: 91% of its 46 ranked universities either climb, remain stable, or are new entrants.
  • Indonesia, Pakistan, and Türkiye record noteworthy improvements.
  • Latin America has four top-100 universities: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and Universidade de São Paulo.
  • Saudi Arabia's KFUPM (101st) is the highest-ranked Arab institution. Meanwhile, the University of Cape Town (171st) is Africa's leader.
  • The rankings feature 1500 universities across 106 higher education systems. 
    The US leads with 197 institutions, followed by the UK (90) and Mainland China (71).