Looking to study abroad? These are the world's best universities in 2025

Harvard University
,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), and
Stanford University
have secured the top three positions in the 2025–2026 Best Global Universities rankings. The list evaluates over 2,250 institutions from more than 100 countries based on academic research output and international reputation, according to a report by US News.
China has the highest number of institutions in the overall rankings with 397, followed by the United States (280), India (118), Japan (104), and the United Kingdom (93).
The annual rankings, compiled by US News, use data and metrics from Clarivate's Web of Science Core Collection and InCites Benchmarking & Analytics. Key indicators include publications, citations, international collaboration, and regional and global research reputation.
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'The Best Global Universities rankings provide valuable benchmarks for students considering international study options or seeking institutions with a strong global research impact,' said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., managing editor for Education at US News.
(Join our
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Rank
University Name
Country
1
Harvard University
United States
2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
United States
3
Stanford University
United States
4
University of Oxford
United Kingdom
5
University of Cambridge
United Kingdom
6
University of California, Berkeley
United States
7
University College London
United Kingdom
8
University of Washington, Seattle
United States
9
Yale University
United States
10
Columbia University
United States
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In regional categories, Tsinghua University leads in Asia, University of Cape Town in
Africa
, University of Sydney in Australia/New Zealand, Universidade de São Paulo in Latin America, and the
University of Oxford
in Europe.
Region
Rank
University Name
Country
Africa
1
University of Cape Town
South Africa
2
Cairo University
Egypt
3
University of Witwatersrand
South Africa
Asia
1
Tsinghua University
China
2
National University of Singapore
Singapore
3
Peking University
China
Australia/NZ
1
University of Sydney
Australia
2
University of Melbourne
Australia
3
University of New South Wales Sydney
Australia
Europe
1
University of Oxford
United Kingdom
2
University of Cambridge
United Kingdom
3
University College London
United Kingdom
Latin America
1
Universidade de São Paulo
Brazil
2
Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Brazil
3
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Chile
The rankings cover 51 subject areas, with expanded listings in fields such as artificial intelligence, engineering, computer science, and plant and animal science. Each subject ranking uses different weightings specific to research performance in that field.

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