QS World University Rankings 2026: With the rank highest in four years, PU now among top 950 universities globally
The Panjab University (PU) has seen a remarkable improvement in the QS World University Rankings 2026, jumping to the 901-950 band from its previous position of 1001-1200, marking a significant advancement of 100 positions. The university's global ranking has continued to show improvement in the last four years with the global rank band of 1201-1400 in 2023 to 901-950 in 2026.
The QS World University Rankings 2026, which evaluated 8,467 institutions from 106 countries and published rankings for 1,501 institutions globally, recognised Panjab University's (PU's) consistent progress across multiple performance indicators. This achievement represents the university's best performance in recent years, reflecting its commitment to academic excellence and research quality.
From research to employment opportunities, the PU has scored well in a host of parameters.
Research impact: A normalised citation score of 109.7 per faculty member, more than twice the global median of 52.0, in this year's ranking.
Employment outcomes: Ranking 10th nationally, the PU have achieved significant improvement, outperforming the global median.
Sustainability: With the PU embarking on sustainability-related curriculum, there is bound to be further improvement in its performance.
Research excellence: The varsity's research output continues to grow impressively with 9,467 papers published in the period of 2019 to 2023 with 100,932 normalised citations.
PU Vice-Chancellor (V-C) Renu Vig has expressed her happiness at the continuous improvement in its performance on most of the parameters over the last four years.
'This significant improvement in our global ranking is a demonstration of the collective efforts of our faculty, researchers, students, and staff. Breaking into the top 900-950 bracket globally represents a significant milestone in our journey towards academic excellence,' Vig said.
She also praised the university's performance in citations per faculty and sustainability, stating that these highlight 'our focus on impactful research and student success'.
'Our focus areas for the coming years include enhancing international collaborations, research networks, renewed focus on making PU the preferred academic destination for foreign students and strengthening our sustainability initiatives,' the V-C added.
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