The QS World University Rankings 2026, released on June 19, includes more than 1,500 universities from over 100 countries, reflecting remarkable movements in the global higher education system. The United States continues to dominate the rankings, while Asian and European countries also recorded many remarkable advances.

MIT continues to lead, UK and US dominate Top 10

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) maintains the world's number 1 position for the 14th consecutive year. It is followed by Imperial College London (UK) and Stanford University (USA), which has just moved up from 6th to 3rd place. The remaining schools in the top 10 include: University of Oxford, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich (Switzerland), National University of Singapore (NUS), University College London (UCL) and California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Overall, the Top 10 world schools have not changed much, with only a few minor adjustments in the rankings. The US continues to have the most schools in the rankings with 192 institutions, most of which improved their positions.

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology students at their graduation ceremony. Photo: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

China's strong rise in rankings, Fudan University enters global Top 30

China continues to expand its global influence thanks to its focus on research and innovation. Peking University holds its position at 14th, Tsinghua University moves up one place to 17th. Most notably, Fudan University moves up nine places to enter the global Top 30 for the first time, coming in at 30th.

Trend from Europe: Italy has its first school in the Top 100

In Europe, Germany saw a positive reversal of fortunes, with more institutions rising than falling. Italy also reached a milestone, with Politecnico di Milano entering the global top 100 for the first time, ranking 98th.

Top 10 world universities in QS 2026 rankings:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - USA

2. Imperial College London - England

3. Stanford University - USA

4. Oxford University - UK

5. Harvard University - USA

6. Cambridge University - UK

7. ETH Zurich - Switzerland

8. National University of Singapore (NUS) - Singapore

9. University College London (UCL) - England

10. California Institute of Technology (Caltech) - USA

New selection criteria are applied

In the 2026 rankings, QS has applied a new set of selection criteria. Accordingly, universities in regions such as Asia, Europe, Latin America & the Caribbean and the Arab region are required to be present in the respective regional rankings to be eligible for global consideration. Previously, only being in the top 50% of the region was eligible to participate.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/10-dai-hoc-hang-dau-the-gioi-truong-dung-so-1-giu-vung-ngoi-vi-suot-14-nam-2413788.html