Oxford crowned top, Ireland & Portugal among most improved & four new entries in the top-50
#QSWUR
LONDON, Jan. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Global higher education experts QS Quacquarelli Symonds has released the third edition of the QS World University Rankings: Europe.
The University of Oxford is crowned #1 for the first time since 2024. ETH Zurich drops to second and UCL and Imperial are joint third. This edition features 950+ universities from across Europe, including some 290 debuts.
|
Top–10 |
|||
|
2026 |
2025 |
||
|
1 |
3 |
University of Oxford |
UK |
|
2 |
1 |
ETH Zurich |
Switzerland |
|
=3 |
5 |
UCL |
UK |
|
=3 |
2 |
Imperial College London |
UK |
|
5 |
4 |
University of Cambridge |
UK |
|
6 |
6 |
The University of Edinburgh |
UK |
|
7 |
8 |
King’s College London |
UK |
|
8 |
9 |
Université PSL |
France |
|
9 |
7 |
The University of Manchester |
UK |
|
10 |
10 |
EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne |
Switzerland |
QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter said: “The QS Europe rankings remain an essential tool for benchmarking academic excellence and supporting students, scholars and institutions in their decision-making.”
Highlights
- UK: Most represented overall and holds seven of the top–10, including Oxford which rises to #1 for first time since 2024
- France: Université PSL rises to eighth and excels in Papers per Faculty and International Research Network
- Germany: 12 top-50 universities in Faculty to Student Ratio, with TUM leading as Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München rises back into the top-20 and KIT enters top-50.
- Switzerland: Despite ETH dropping to second, only the UK has more universities in the top-10. University of Geneva enters top-50. Switzerland is Europe’s best top-performer in International Faculty
- Ireland: Among the most improved with Portugal, with six of last year’s eight universities rising. Four debut. UCD enters top-50
- Italy: Fouth most represented country, with 14 debuts and four institutions retaining their positions in the top-100
- Spain: Seven in 10 universities from last year improve in Academic Reputation as institutions score high in Exchange Students
- Netherlands: 10 top-100 universities means only UK and Germany have more, while Delft University of Technology climbs to 11th
- Nordics: Sweden is one of six countries with a top-20 university, with Lund at 12th. Aarhus re-enters the top-50 for Denmark for the first time since 2024.
- Czechia is the only Eastern European country represented among the top 100, with Charles University placing 92nd.
- Turkey: Second most represented country. Its premier institution, Koç University, rises to 143rd.
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SOURCE QS Quacquarelli Symonds
