Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 out; IISc Bangalore retains top spot

New Delhi: The much-anticipated THE World University Rankings 2026 has been released. Times Higher Education (THE) has released the World University Rankings 2026 on October 9. According to higher education analysts, a total of 163 Indian universities have been featured in the World University Rankings 2026.

This year, THE has included 2,191 institutions across 115 countries. With no surprise or concern, the United States and the United Kingdom (UK) universities dominate the top 10 universities in the world. Oxford University, UK, remains in the top spot as the best university in the world for the tenth consecutive year. It is followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from the United States at second place. The University of Cambridge in the UK and Princeton University in the US shared third place. 

According to the Times, India has the second-highest number of ranked universities for the first time, only behind the US. THE World University Rankings 2026 was prepared based on the five parameters: Teaching (29.5), Research Environment (29.0), Research Quality (30.0), Industry (4.0) and International Outlook (7.5).