If you're wondering where to study, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 can give you guidance. The long-established list evaluates more than 2,000 universities from 115 regions and countries, offering you an exceptional insight into how higher education institutions compare worldwide. However far you are into your study abroad planning, this could be a great help. Find out more as we take a look at the latest THE Rankings.
What do the rankings tell us?
The University of Oxford is the world's top university according to Times Higher Education, leading its list for the ninth year in a row. As was the case last year, every institution in the top 10 can be found in either the UK or USA. In fact, the universities in question are unchanged, with some switching positions. Princeton rises two places to fourth, while Stanford drops four places to sixth.
Other countries begin to appear just outside of this section. Switzerland's ETH Zurich leads the challengers in 11th place, and is followed by two universities from China. Tsinghua and Peking make a strong showing, with the latter rising one place from last year. The former recently topped the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings.
Of course, these are international rankings, with more countries featured this year than ever before. We will discuss these later, but first, here is the top 10 in full.
Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 top 10
| Rank | University | Country | Movement |
| 1 | University of Oxford | UK | - |
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | USA | Up 1 |
| 3 | Harvard University | USA | Up 1 |
| 4 | Princeton University | USA | Up 2 |
| 5 | University of Cambridge | UK | - |
| 6 | Stanford University | USA | Down 4 |
| 7 | California Institute of Technology | USA | - |
| 8 | University of California, Berkeley | USA | Up 1 |
| 9 | Imperial College London | USA | Down 1 |
| 10 | Yale University | USA | - |
Which countries perform well in the rankings?
As tends to be the case, universities in the USA perform strongest overall. Most of the top 10 and 30 can be found in the country, including the second-place institution, MIT. Notably, this is now the top-ranked university in America. The UK also makes a good impression, with Oxford being one of just 12 institutions it places inside the top 100.
The annual changes for universities in Australia and New Zealand are less positive. Seventeen of Australia's institutions have fallen down the list, with only four climbing. Similarly, none of New Zealand's eight universities have improved their position. However, both countries show their overall strength, with a combined total of 12 institutions inside the top 250. Highest of all is the University of Melbourne, in 39th place.
Elsewhere, universities in Asia continue their progress. The region makes an unrivalled 853 appearances throughout the rankings, up from 737 last year. While many are made by institutions in China, including seven in the top 100, highly ranked universities can be found across the continent. Of note is Singapore, whose Nanyang Technological University climbs two places to complete the top 30. This gives the country its second institution in that part of the list.
Here is the rest of the top 30 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025.
| Rank | University | Country | Movement |
| 11 | ETH Zurich | Switzerland | - |
| 12 | Tsinghua University | China | - |
| 13 | Peking University | China | Up 1 |
| =14 | The University of Chicago | USA | Down 1 |
| =14 | University of Pennsylvania | USA | Up 2 |
| 16 | Johns Hopkins University | USA | Down 1 |
| 17 | National University of Singapore | Singapore | Up 2 |
| =18 | Columbia University | USA | Down 1 |
| =18 | University of California, Los Angeles | USA | - |
| 20 | Cornell University | USA | - |
| 21 | University of Toronto | Canada | - |
| =22 | UCL (University College London) | UK | - |
| =22 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | USA | Up 1 |
| 24 | Carnegie Mellon University | USA | - |
| 25 | University of Washington | USA | - |
| 26 | Technical University of Munich | Germany | Up 4 |
| 27 | Duke University | USA | Down 1 |
| 28 | The University of Tokyo | Japan | Up 1 |
| 29 | University of Edinburgh | UK | Up 1 |
| 30 | Nanyang Technological University | Singapore | Up 2 |
How are the rankings compiled?
The 2025 THE Rankings are based on how universities perform in five different areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook. These are measured and scored with 18 performance indicators, which are all given a percentage weighting. When combined, they make up an overall score for every institution on the list.
The indicators and their weightings are as follows:
- Teaching: 29.5%
- Teaching reputation: 15%
- Staff-to-student ratio: 4.5%
- Doctorate-to-bachelor’s ratio: 2%
- Doctorates-awarded-to-academic-staff ratio: 5.5%
- Institutional income: 2.5%
- Research environment: 29%
- Research reputation: 18%
- Research income: 5.5%
- Research productivity: 5.5%
- Research quality: 30%
- Citation impact: 15%
- Research strength: 5%
- Research excellence: 5%
- Research influence: 5%
- Industry: 4%
- Industry income: 2%
- Patents: 2%
- International outlook: 7.5%
- Proportion of international students: 2.5%
- Proportion of international staff: 2.5%
- International collaboration: 2.5%
- Studying abroad: 0%
Are there other university rankings?
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 are just one of various lists that you can use to compare institutions. For example, the QS World University Rankings 2025 were published earlier this year, using a different methodology to produce different results. Its number one was MIT, with Oxford placing third.
There are also rankings that focus solely on individual study destinations. For anyone considering the UK, the Complete University Guide League Tables are a good place to begin. If you aim to study in the USA, the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings are a common starting point.
Of course, with there being so many different rankings, none can claim to be definitive. As such, it is important to use them only as a guide, and one part of your decision-making process. When selecting a university, you should consider the whole picture, and not be swayed by its position on a list.
Nonetheless, if the new THE Rankings have got you interested in looking at league tables, you can find more on our university rankings page. From there, you can see full lists and compare the top institutions in every country. Our article on how to compare universities can also give you guidance, or you can begin the process now with our simple course search tool.
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