When you’re deciding on where to study abroad, you might start with one of the most globally recognised ranking systems—the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Published annually by Times Higher Education (THE) magazine, its ranking methodology is based on calibrated performance indicators, categorised within the following five key areas:

  • Teaching—the learning environment

  • Research environment—volume, income and reputation

  • Research quality—citation impact, research strength, excellence and influence

  • International outlook—staff, students and co-authorship

  • Industry—income and patents

To jump straight to using these rankings to your advantage, just ask an education advisor who can guide you for free in your study abroad journey.

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What do THE rankings measure?

Within the five pillars measured by THE rankings, each performance indicator contributes a percentage towards an institution’s final score. Let’s have a look at what they are.

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%

This performance indicator studies the perceived prestige of institutions in teaching, using data from THE’s Academic Reputation Survey. It also gauges the number of postgraduate research students as an indication of how well an institution is nurturing the next generation of academics, and appealing to graduates with teaching at the highest level. The subject mix of universities and spread of disciplines and countries are also taken into account.

Research environment (29%)

  • Reputation survey: 18%

  • Research income: 5.5%

  • Research productivity: 5.5%

Focusing on an institution’s reputation for research excellence, this metric is based on responses from the Academic Reputation Survey. For research income, which is key for developing world-class research, THE factors in academic staff numbers and purchasing power. To evaluate productivity, THE totals the number of publications within the Elsevier’s Scopus database, to get a sense of how much high-quality research is published by an institution.

Research quality (30%)

  • Citation impact: 15%

  • Research strength: 5%

  • Research excellence: 5%

  • Research influence: 5%

This indicator measures the influence of a university and its global influence in advancing new knowledge and ideas. Citation impact is calculated by how often an institution’s work is cited by scholars globally, examining millions of sources — including journal articles, conference proceedings and books — published over five years. The 2024 rankings introduced three measures for this indicator for research strength, excellence and influence.

International Outlook (7.5%)

  • Proportion of international students: 2.5%

  • Proportion of international staff: 2.5%

  • International collaboration: 2.5%

As leading universities now compete with their peers globally, THE measures this indicator to demonstrate an institution’s ability to attract students and faculty members from all over the world.

Industry (4%)

  • Industry income: 2%

  • Patents: 2%

This indicator evaluates a university’s impact on industry innovation and its ability to attract research funding. It measures how much income a university earns from industry research, and the number of patents citing the university’s research.

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Below, we’ve compiled the top universities in each destination - Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, the UK and the USA. If you’re keen to find out more about studying abroad in any of these countries, have a chat with one of our friendly counsellors!

THE top 10 universities in Australia 2026

Rank 

University  

Global rank 

1 

University of Melbourne

37

2 

The University of Sydney

=53 

3 

Monash University

=58 

4 

Australian National University

=73 

5 

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney

79 

6 

The University of Queensland

=80 

7 

University of Adelaide

133 

8 

University of Technology Sydney

=145 

9 

The University of Western Australia

153 

10 

Macquarie University

178

THE top universities in New Zealand 2026

Rank 

University  

Global rank 

1 

University of Auckland 

=156

2 

University of Otago 

351-400 

=3

University of Waikato

401-500 

=3 

University of Waikato 

401-500 

=5 

Victoria University of Wellington 

501-600 

=5 

Lincoln University 

501-600 

=5 

Massey University 

501-600 

8 

University of Canterbury 

601-800 

THE top 10 universities in Canada 2026

Rank 

University  

Global rank 

1 

University of Toronto 

21 

2 

McGill University

=41 

3 

University of British Columbia

45 

4

McMaster University 

=116 

5 

University of Alberta

119 

6 

Université de Montréal

150 

7 

University of Waterloo

=162 

8 

University of Ottawa

=187 

9 

University of Calgary

200

10 

Western University

201-250 

THE top 10 universities in the UK 2026

Rank 

University  

Global rank 

1 

University of Oxford 

1 

2 

University of Cambridge 

=3 

3 

Imperial College London 

8 

4 

UCL (University College London) 

22 

5 

University of Edinburgh 

29 

6 

King’s College London 

38 

7 

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) 

52 

8 

University of Manchester 

56 

9 

University of Bristol 

=80

10 

University of Glasgow 

84

THE top universities in Ireland 2026

Rank 

University  

Global rank 

1 

Trinity College Dublin 

173

2  

University College Dublin 

201-250

3 

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences 

251-300

4 

Dublin City University 

301-350

=5

University College Cork 

351-400

=5 

University of Galway (previously National University of Ireland Galway) 

351-400

=7

Maynooth University

501-600

=7 

University of Limerick

501-600

9 

Technological University Dublin

1201-1500

THE top 10 universities in the USA 2026

Rank 

University  

Global rank 

1 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 

2 

2 

Princeton University

=3 

=3 

Harvard University

=5 

=3 

Stanford University

=5 

5 

California Institute of Technology

7 

6 

University of California, Berkeley

9

7 

Yale University

10 

8 

University of Pennsylvania

14 

9 

The University of Chicago

15 

10 

Johns Hopkins University

16 

How to use rankings to decide where to study

University rankings are a great starting point for valuable insights into an institution’s academic reputation and global recognition. But choosing the right university goes beyond rankings. Factors like cost, career opportunities, location, and personal goals all play a major role in finding the best fit for you.

That’s where getting the right help is crucial. With over 50 years of experience, IDP has helped hundreds of thousands of students find the right university and course. Our free counselling services will connect you with experts who will not only guide you in understanding the rankings but also navigate applications, visas, and everything in between.

Tap the button below now to chase your dreams at a top institution.

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