Top Universities in the World in 2025 - Rankings by QS, THE, ARWU

Top Universities in the World in 2025 - Rankings by QS, THE, ARWU

Edited By Prabhjyot Kaur | Updated on Nov 26, 2024 06:30 PM IST | #IELTS

Top 100 Universities int he World 2025: Students worldwide aspire to study at the top universities. A major focal point for choosing the top universities worldwide is the world university rankings released by QS and Times Higher Education (THE). QS World University Rankings 2025 ranked over 1500 institutions from 105 countries worldwide. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, US has been ranked number 1 among the top universities in the world by QS World University Rankings 2025 for 13 years in a row. The University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford are ranked 2nd and 3rd in the QS ranking, respectively.

This Story also Contains
  1. Top Universities in the World 2025
  2. World University Rankings 2025: Key Insights
  3. Best Universities in the World 2025
  4. QS World University Rankings Methodology 2025
  5. Times Higher Education Ranking Methodology 2025
  6. Top Universities in the World for Subject-Wise
  7. Admission Requirements for Top Universities in the World 2025
Top Universities in the World in 2025 - Rankings by QS, THE, ARWU
Top Universities in the World in 2025 - Rankings by QS, THE, ARWU

THE World University Rankings 2025 features 2,092 universities across 108 countries and regions. The University of Oxford secured the first rank in THE World University Rankings 2025 for 9 consecutive years. THE ranked Stanford University 3rd and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 2nd among the top universities in the world 2025.

More than 5 million students each year travel abroad to join top universities in the world. With nearly 5 million students jumping on the study abroad bandwagon, top unis worldwide are engaged in a serious competition to attract international students to their classrooms. International students are increasingly basing their decisions on the World University Rankings 2025 to select the good universities in the world for higher education. A few of the top study destinations including USA, United Kingdom, Australia, China, etc. are highly popular and have the highest number of top universities in the world. Read the article to know the top 100 universities in the World 2025.

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Top Universities in the World 2025

The top universities abroad or local, i.e., in the world 2025 are ranked based on various parameters by two major ranking bodies; Times Higher Education (THE), and Quacquarelli Symonds(QS). The various parameters on which these ranking engines rank the universities are: academic or research performance, including alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, highly cited researchers, papers published in Nature and Science, papers indexed in major citation indices, and the per capita academic performance of an institution.

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The USA, UK, and Australia have the maximum number of universities in the top 100 universities for 2025 list drawn by QS or THE. The USA has the maximum number of top higher education institutes in the global universities ranking followed by UK and China. This reflects that these countries focus hugely on maintaining the quality of their higher education institutes. Also, these countries give a lot of weightage to research, so, students attain firsthand knowledge and do not just limit their teaching to rot learning.

Apart from this, Canada, Germany, Ireland, and Australia are some of the popular study-abroad destinations that have been included in the top universities in the world list. Ultimately, the best choice for top universities in the world 2025 depends on the requirements of an individual as well as the visa requirements of a particular country.

Explore top study abroad destinations

World University Rankings 2025: Key Insights

Over 1,500 universities across 105 higher education systems are featured in the QS WUR 2025 whereas exactly 2,092 universities are mentioned in the THE WUR 2025. The majority of universities that are among the top universities worldwide are located in the USA, followed by the UK and China. Here is an overview of what is covered in the world university rankings provided by QS and THE.

  • MIT stands at 2nd place in THE Rankings 2025 whereas it maintained its rank at 1st for 13 years.
  • Oxford University holds the 1st place for the last 9 years as per THE. On the other hand, it is at 3rd as per QS 2025.
  • Rankings of the five top universities in Australia declined due its low performance to the latest updated outlook as per THE.
  • Top 5 universities in the world as per QS 2025 include MIT, Imperial College London, Oxford, Harvard, and Cambridge.
  • Top 5 universities in the world as per THE 2025 include
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Best Universities in the World 2025

Here are the 100 top universities in the world for 2025 based on THE and QS World University Rankings. Among the top 1,500 institutions listed by QS, the top 100 universities in the world for 2025 are provided below. We have also included THE rankings of these top universities.

Top 100 Universities in the World: QS & THE Rankings 2025

University

QS WUR 2025

THE WUR 2025

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

1

2

Imperial College London

2

9

University of Oxford

3

1

Harvard University

4

3

University of Cambridge

5

5

Stanford University

6

6

ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

7

11

National University of Singapore (NUS)

8

17

UCL

9

22

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

10

7

University of Pennsylvania

11

14

University of California, Berkeley (UCB)

12

8

University of Melbourne

13

39

Peking University

14

13

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU)

15

30

Cornell University

16

20

University of Hong Kong

17

35

University of Sydney

18

61

University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)

19

83

Tsinghua University

20

12

University of Chicago

21

14

Princeton University

22

4

Yale University

23

10

Université PSL

24

42

University of Toronto

25

21

EPFL

26

32

University of Edinburgh

27

29

Technical University of Munich

28

26

McGill University

29

45

The Australian National University

30

73

Seoul National University

31

62

Johns Hopkins University

32

16

The University of Tokyo

32

28

Columbia University

34

18

University of Manchester

34

53

Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

36

44

Monash University

37

58

University of British Columbia

38

41

Fudan University

39

36

King's College London

40

36

The University of Queensland

40

77

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

42

18

New York University (NYU)

43

33

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

44

22

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

45

52

Institut Polytechnique de Paris

46

71

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

47

66

Zhejiang University

47

47

Delft University of Technology

49

56

Kyoto University

50

55

Northwestern University

50

31

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

50

50

KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology

53

82

University of Bristol

54

78

University of Amsterdam

55

58

Yonsei University

56

102

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

57

84

Carnegie Mellon University

58

24

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

59

38

Universiti Malaya (UM)

60

251-300

Duke University

61

27

City University of Hong Kong

62

80

KU Leuven

63

43

Sorbonne University

63

76

University of Auckland

65

152

University of Texas at Austin

66

50

Korea University

67

189

National Taiwan University (NTU)

68

172

University of Warwick

69

106

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

69

46

Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)

71

University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

72

34

Université Paris-Saclay

73

64

KTH Royal Institute of Technology

74

95

Lund University

75

95

University of Washington

76

25

University of Western Australia

77

149

University of Glasgow

78

87

Brown University

79

58

University of Birmingham

80

93

University of Southampton

80

115

University of Adelaide

82

128

University of Leeds

82

123

Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

84

47

Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech)

84

195

Osaka University

86

162

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

87

139

University of Technology Sydney

88

154

Durham University

89

172

Pennsylvania State University

89

100

Purdue University

89

79

Universidade de São Paulo

92

199

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC)

93

501-600

Lomonosov Moscow State University

94

107

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

94

801–1000

University of Alberta

96

116

Freie Universitaet Berlin

97

104

Pohang University of Science And Technology (POSTECH)

98

151

RWTH Aachen University

99

92

University of Copenhagen

100

97

Why is QS World University ranking reliable?

QS Rankings are considered by many aspirants when selecting among the top universities in the world 2025 for their studies abroad. QS rankings provide an overall picture of a university. The most significant factors like student/faculty ratio, international students, employment outcomes, and sustainability. Sustainability refers to the potential of a university to stand well in the years to come. This is decided based on the research quality, presence of faculty, and curriculum adopted among others.

What is Times Higher Education ranking? Is it reliable?

Times Higher Education rankings have the highest number of factors in their ranking process. If students are looking for both research quality and reputation among employers, Times Higher Education rankings are the best to consider. Teaching reputation carries the highest weightage in THE followed by research quality. Teaching in universities is ranked based on surveys regarding the quality of teaching. THE rankings give an overall view of a university.

QS World University Rankings Methodology 2025

Top universities in the world 2025 rankings are different for different ranking engines. The most well-known ranking methodology, the QS ranking 2025 uses six metrics.

QS uni rankings methodology

Metric

Weightage

Academic Reputation

40 %

Employer Reputation

10 %

Faculty/Student Ratio

20 %

Citation per faculty

20 %

International Faculty Ratio

5 %

International Student Ratio

5 %

Times Higher Education Ranking Methodology 2025

The Times Higher Education Ranking methodology for the top universities in the world 2025 considers five indicators teaching, research, citations, international outlook, and industry income.

Ranking Parameters for Universities by THE

Indicator

Weight

Teaching (the learning environment)

30%

Research (volume, income, and reputation)

30%

Citations (research influence)

30%

International outlook (staff, students, research)

7.5%

Industry income (knowledge transfer)

2.5%

Top Universities in the World for Subject-Wise

Candidates who have decided on their stream and looking for the best universities in that domain can check the best universities for subject-wise categories. The subject-wise top universities in the world for masters are listed below.

Top Universities in the World for Business

Name of the University

QS 2024 Ranking for MBA

Stanford Graduate School of Business

1

Penn (Wharton)

2

Harvard Business School

3

London Business School

4

HEC Paris

5

MIT (Sloan)

6

Columbia Business School

7

IE Business School

8

Cambridge (Judge)9

IESE Business School

9

INSEAD

11

Top Universities in the World for MBA

Name of the University

THE 2024 Ranking for MBA

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1

Stanford University

2

Harvard University

3

University of California, Berkeley4
University of Cambridge5

University of Oxford

5

University of Chicago

7

Tsinghua University

8

Yale University

9

Peking University

10

Top Universities in the World for Masters

Name of the University

QS 2024 Ranking

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA

1

University of Cambridge, UK

2

University of Oxford, UK

3

Harvard University, USA

4

Stanford University, USA

5

Imperial College London, UK

6

ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Switzerland

7

National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore

8

University College London (UCL), UK

9

University of California, Berkeley (UCB), USA

10

Top Universities in the World for Engineering

Name of the University

QS 2024 Ranking for Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA

1

Stanford University, USA

2

Oxford University, UK

3

University of Cambridge, UK

4

University of California, Berkeley (UCB), USA

5

ETH Zurich, Switzerland

6

Imperial College London, UK

7

Harvard University, USA

8

California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USA

9

EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne10

Top Universities in the World for Computer Science

Name of the University

QS 2024 Ranking for Computer Science

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA

1

Carnegie Mellon University, USA

2

Stanford University, USA

3

University of Oxford, UK

4

University of California, Berkeley (UCB), USA

5

National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore

6

Harvard University, USA

7

Cambridge University, UK

8

ETH Zurich, Switzerland

9

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore)

10

Note: Candidates can apply for the admission exams of these respective universities to get enrolled in the courses. Depending on the course the entrance exams like GRE, GMAT, and SAT and get varies. Each university has its own cut-off marks and selection criteria for admission purposes. Candidate can check them individually and proceed with their study abroad goals.

Admission Requirements for Top Universities in the World 2025

Admission requirements for the world’s top 100 universities vary based on the course chosen by a student and the entry requirements of a university. However, each university has a few general admission requirements which include academic scores, entrance exams, and documents to make a strong application. A few of these entry requirements to study at the best universities in the world 2025 are listed below:

  1. Academic Performance: All applicants are required to have a high academic score in their high school and their bachelor’s (if applying for a master’s degree). Admissions to the top 100 universities are highly competitive, hence students are expected to maintain a high GPA throughout their studies.

  2. Test Scores: Depending on the university and the course chosen, students must have a valid score in SAT, ACT, GMAT, or GRE exams. All international students are required to meet the English language requirement and hence must submit a valid IELTS or TOEFL score.

  3. Extracurricular Activities: Candidates are required to have an involvement in extracurricular activities, and show that they are all-rounder. In addition to having excellent academic results, students must be involved in extracurricular activities by applying for internships, and leadership positions, and participating in artistic or athletic competitions.

  4. Strong Application Documents: All applicants planning to seek admission to the top 100 universities in the world are required to have a strong application along with a well-written statement of purpose and letters of recommendation at the time of admission.

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Questions related to IELTS

Have a question related to IELTS ?

Hello,

One the most general tips for the preparation of both tests would be to go for a structured approach and understand the format of the tests respectively and work on improving grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation along with it take regular tests and reviews them. Both have 4 section, Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking, so all four must be kept in focus, and thus you must plan your time according to your needs and areas of improvement.

Now, for TOEFL, it's recommended to use resources from ETS, that is, official materials and tests.

For IELTS, it's recommended to use resources from IDP, British Council and Cambridge, that give you sample tests and questions.

Wishing an all the very best for the test.

Hello Student,

For the AMC (Australian Medical Council) exam , which assesses international medical graduates for practice in Australia, the IELTS requirement is generally a minimum overall score of 7.0 , with no individual band score below 7.0 (in Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking).

Alternatively, the AMC also accepts equivalent scores from OET, TOEFL iBT, and PTE Academic :

  • OET : A grade of B in all four components.
  • TOEFL iBT : A minimum overall score of 94, with minimum scores of 24 in Listening, 24 in Reading, 27 in Writing, and 23 in Speaking.
  • PTE Academic : A minimum overall score of 65, with a minimum score of 65 in each communicative skill.

Meeting these requirements is essential to proceed with the AMC’s application and registration processes.


I hope this answer helps you. If you have more queries then feel free to share your questions with us we will be happy to assist you.

Thank you and wishing you all the best for your bright future.


Hello

To be eligible for the Australian Medical Council (AMC) exams , candidates must demonstrate English .

AMC assessment process :

1. Accepted English Language Tests and Scores

IELTS ( International English Language Testing System ) :

Overall band score : 7.0 in each band ( listening , reading , writing and speaking ) .

PTE Academic ( Pearson Test of English Academic ) :

Overall score of 65 in each band ( listening , reading , writing and speaking ) .

2. Validity of Test Scores

The test results must be no older than two years at the time of submitting your AMC application .

3. Preparation Tips for IELTS

Practice regularly : Build your language skills across all four components .

Take practice exams : practice can help improve speed and accuracy .

professional coaching if needed , specially for writing and speaking , which are often the most challenging part .

Use official IELTS resources : Cambridge IELTS books , online mock tests and other reliable materials can give you an accurate rating  .

4. Application Tips

Ensure that your English test scores are valid and meet the minimum requirements before applying .

Keep a copy of your scores as they may need to be provided to both the AMC and registration authority in Australia .

Hope this helps you .

All the best

If you have completed a master's degree in the UK, you might still need to take the IELTS test to qualify for a Permanent Residency (PR) or Work Visa in Australia. While your degree from an English-speaking country like the UK may demonstrate your proficiency in English, Australian immigration authorities typically require a standardized English language test score, such as IELTS, to assess your language skills formally.

For better guidance, Invicta Institute can provide you with detailed information and assistance regarding the specific English language requirements for Australian PR or Work Visa applications. Invicta's experienced counselors can help you navigate the process and determine if your UK degree suffices or if you need to take the IELTS test.


Since you're currently in the first year of your Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), planning ahead for your MBA abroad is a wise decision. The ideal time to take your IELTS exam is during your third year of B.Com. This timing ensures that your IELTS score, which is valid for two years, will still be valid when you apply for MBA programs.

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