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.

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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.

Full Press Release

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