World's Top 10 Universities 2026: Oxford Tops 10 for 10th Year in a Row

Oxford retains top spot in THE World University Rankings 2026, leading for 10th consecutive year. The US and UK dominate the top 10, with Princeton moving into the top 3.

Ranking the 10 best universities in the world 2026

The Times Higher Education (THE) organization has just announced the global university rankings in 2026 on October 9, once again affirming the sustainable position of educational powers. Most notably, Oxford University has officially set an unprecedented record by holding the position of the best university in the world for 10 consecutive years.

Oxford ranked 1st for 10 consecutive years

The US and the UK continue to dominate the top 10, despite a slight shake-up in the rankings. Oxford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) remain firmly in the top two positions. Meanwhile, Princeton University made a spectacular jump into the top 3, pushing Harvard University down two places to 5th. Other familiar names such as Cambridge, Stanford and Royal London all had a stable year, rising slightly by one place.

Ranking of the 10 best universities in the world 2026

School name	Nation	Ranking 2026	Ranking 2025
Oxford University	Older brother	1	1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	America	2	2
Princeton University	America	=3	4
University of Cambridge	Older brother	=3	5
Harvard University	America	=5	3
Stanford University	America	=5	6
California Institute of Technology	America	7	7
Imperial College London	Older brother	8	9
University of California, Berkeley	America	9	8
Yale University	America	10	10

Criteria for evaluating and ranking universities

This year’s THE rankings are based on 18 detailed indicators, divided into five main pillars. Of these, academic factors still hold the key weight: Research Quality accounts for the largest proportion (30%), followed by Teaching Quality (29.5%) and Research Environment (29%). Other criteria include Internationality (7.5%) and Income/Patents (4%).

In 2026, THE surveyed and evaluated nearly 2,200 higher education institutions from 115 countries and territories. THE is one of the four most prestigious ranking organizations globally, along with QS, ARWU and US News. This prestigious ranking was first held in 2011.

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