QS World University Rankings 2026: Top 10 Universities in the World
- The list of the best universities in the world has been released by the QS World University Rankings
- According to QS World University Rankings, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States is the best tertiary institution in the world
- Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, Stanford University in the US, University of Oxford and Harvard University occupy the top five positions
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering basic and tertiary education in Nigeria and worldwide
The QS World University Rankings has released the list of the top global tertiary institutions in the world for the year 2026.
Five criteria, like Research and discovery, learning experience, employability, global engagement, and sustainability, were used in the rankings.
Source: Twitter
In the latest rankings, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States has been ranked as the best university in the world.
Over 1,500 of the world's top universities are included in the 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings.
It is important to note that research and discovery criteria are grouped differently from the other four.
List of top 10 universities in the world
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), located in Cambridge, United States, is the number one university according to QS World University Rankings.
The US-based university had a 100% overall score by achieving 100 in both research and discovery and the other category.
- Imperial College London is ranked as the second-best university in the world, and it is situated in London, United Kingdom.
It has an overall score of 99.4%, with 95% in research and discovery and 99.6% in the other category.
- Stanford University is another US-based university occupying the third position
It has a 98.9% overall score with 99.7% in research and discovery, and 100% in the other category.
- University of Oxford, located in Oxford, United Kingdom, is the fourth best university in the global.
The UK-based university has 91 in research and discovery and 100 in the other category, with an overall score of 97.9%.
- The fifth-best university in the world is Harvard University, located in Cambridge, United States.
Its overall score is 97.7 with 100% in both research and discovery, and the other criteria.
One of the most popular tertiary institutions in the world, the University of Cambridge, is ranked the sixth university in the world.
The university, located in Cambridge, United Kingdom, has an overall 97.2% score with 88.6% in research and discovery and 100% in the other category.
- ETH Zurich, located in Zürich, Switzerland, with an overall score of 96.7, is the 7th best university in the world.
The Swiss university has 98.8 in research and discovery and 99.7 in the other criteria.
- The National University of Singapore (NUS) is the 8th best university in the world and the number one in the continent of Asia.
NUS, located in Singapore, has an overall score of 95.9, with 95.9 in research and discovery and 99.9 in the other category
- University College London (UCL), another university in the UK, is ranked the 9th best in the world.
The London-based university has an overall score of 95.8, with 80.9 in research and discovery and 99.9 in the other criteria.
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech) completes the list of the top ten universities in the world.
Caltech is located in Pasadena, United States, and its overall score is 94.3 with 100% in research and discovery and 98.3 in the other category.
2025: 10 Best universities in the world
Recall that Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Imperial College London, and the University of Oxford emerged as the best three universities in the world.
This is according to the latest QS World University Rankings 2025 for top global universities rankings.
Universities in the United States of America and the United Kingdom dominated the top ten universities in the world list.
2024: Top 20 Best Universities in The World
In a previous story, Legit.ng reported that the QS World University Rankings released the 2024 edition of its top global universities rankings.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford were ranked the top three universities in the world.
The ranking featured 1,500 institutions across 104 locations with an emphasis on employability and sustainability.
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Source: Legit.ng
