Times Higher Education (THE) has revealed the World University Rankings 2025, the 21st edition of the list. This year’s release sees its biggest table yet, with over 2,000 institutions ranked and 115 countries represented.
Shifts in key destinations
THE’s World University Rankings 2025 provides a look into the changing perceptions of the academic community, especially in key destinations like the UK, the US and Australia.
UK
The University of Oxford maintains its top spot for the ninth year in a row – the longest run ever for any university in number one. Its industry score (income and patents) has significantly increased in recent years along with its teaching environment score and international outlook. Despite Oxford’s reign, UK universities experienced a drop in reputation on the whole. This decrease is partly due to a broader distribution of votes as the reputation survey expanded in recent years and welcomed more global participation. However, other factors may also be at play, especially as British universities tackle funding and international student recruitment challenges.
US
Meanwhile, US universities still dominate the top 10, though rankings have changed with Stanford University (previously 2nd) falling to sixth place and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) becoming the highest-ranked US university. Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley have also moved up in the ranking. Overall, the US has slightly improved its representation in the list, with 38 institutions in the top 100, up by two from last year.
Australia
For the second year in a row, Australia saw a dip in standings on the list. In total, 38 Australian universities ranked; four went up, 17 went down and 16 remained unchanged, while one was not ranked last year. Most universities slipped slightly, with the University of Melbourne recognised as the country’s highest-ranked university at 39th place.
Australia’s performance is believed to be caused by the loss of international student revenue due to the pandemic. That said, the sector remains optimistic, anchoring on its quality education system and its ability to keep up with its Asian neighbours.
A more diverse ranking
In the last four years, the number of countries represented in the top 200 of THE’s World University Rankings was 27. This year, it has risen to 30 and now includes Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, highlighting the rise of emerging markets in higher education.
Alternative destinations, particularly China, France and Germany, are gaining esteem. Chinese universities now take 7.7% of the vote share for teaching and 7.3% of research reputation. Meanwhile, French universities now take 2.9% of the vote share for reaching reputation, representing a steady increase since 2015. Their vote share for research reputation has also risen to 2.9%. Germany has also improved its vote share for teaching reputation (3.9%) and research (4.4.%).
Though the US still has the most representation in the list, Japan, the UK and India follow close behind with 119 for the former and 107 each for the latter two countries. Turkish participation has also grown, reaching 91 in 2025 (from only 43 in 2021). Other highly represented countries include China (94), Iran (81), Russia (81), Brazil (61), Italy (55) and Spain (55).
Notably, Sweden recorded the highest improvement rate of all nations in the rankings at 31%, with seven universities improving. China follows with an improvement rate of 21% with 21 out of 94 institutions improving their positions. It’s also the only one of the 10 largest countries to report a positive score.
upGrad GSP Partner Institutions in the Top 100
upGrad GSP is proud to be partners with institutions recognised by the U.S. News & World Report as the best global universities:
- University of Queensland – Brisbane, Australia (77)
- University of Glasgow – Glasgow, UK (87)
To connect with these universities and other high-ranking global institutions in key study-abroad destinations, contact our business development experts today.
