the logo

Best universities in the world 2024

Find the world’s top universities in 2024 using the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings data

  • Best universities in
  • Rankings
  • Rankings for Students
  • Study abroad
September 27 2023
Best universities in the world 2018

Share

The top 10 universities in the world 2024

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in the world

 World University Ranking 2024  World University Ranking 2023 University Country/Region
 1   1  University of Oxford United Kingdom
 2   =3  Stanford University United States
 3   5  Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States
 4   2  Harvard University United States
 5   =3  University of Cambridge United Kingdom
 6   7  Princeton University United States
 7   6  California Institute of Technology United States
 8   10  Imperial College London United Kingdom
 9   8  University of California, Berkeley United States
 10   9  Yale University United States

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, released on 27 September 2023, has revealed the world’s top universities. 

Free graduate employability course
Develop the skills top employers want while you study and get a digital certificate to boost your CV!

A UK institution, the University of Oxford, has taken the first place position while Stanford University is in second position.

In total, 1,904 universities across 108 countries or regions are represented in the ranking and 27 of these have at least one university in the top 200.  A further 769 universities are listed with “reporter” status, meaning that they provided data but did not meet our eligibility criteria to receive a rank.

Applying to university overseas: what to consider
A guide to university rankings for international students
THE World University Rankings explained
How to use the rankings: frequently asked questions
The best ways to prepare for studying abroad

Both in terms of the overall ranking and the highest positions, the US and the UK are well represented. Japan and India are among the best-represented countries in the ranking. Other countries such as Germany, China, Australia and the Netherlands are well represented in the top 200. 

The 2024 World University Rankings were put together using a new and improved methodology. Results are calculated using 18 performance indicators underlying five metrics: research environment, teaching (the learning environment), research quality, industry and international outlook. The full methodology can be found here.

Best universities in the UK
Best universities in the United States 
Best universities in Australia 
Best universities in Canada
Best universities in France
Best universities in Germany

Top 5 universities in the world

5. University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a prestigious university located in the UK. 

Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is a collegiate public research institution. Its 800-year history makes it the world’s fourth oldest university and the second oldest university in the English-speaking world.

The university is split into 31 colleges, where students receive small group teaching sessions known as supervisions. 

In total, 92 affiliates of the university have been awarded Nobel Prizes, covering every category. 

4. Harvard University

Established in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest university in the US. 

Harvard University is one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. It is part of the Ivy League, a group of eight highly regarded private universities in the US.

Harvard is connected to more than 45 Nobel laureates, at least 30 heads of state and 48 Pulitzer prizewinners. Thirteen US presidents have honorary degrees from the institution; the most recent of these was awarded to John F. Kennedy in 1956.

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT is organised into six separate schools: architecture and planning; engineering; humanities, arts and social sciences; management; science; and computing.

The first architecture classes in the US were taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The university was founded in the mid-19th century and has always endeavoured to provide financial aid to students on a needs basis.

Its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, includes 18 student residences, many gardens and public works of art.

Admission is extremely selective. The university lays claim to 85 Nobel Laureates, 58 National Medal of Science winners, 29 National Medal of Technology and Innovation winners and 45 MacArthur Fellows. Among its alumni is Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the United Nations.

Best universities in Spain
Best universities in Malaysia 
Best universities in Italy
Best universities in China
Best universities in India
Explore more countries

2. Stanford University

Many graduates go on to achieve great things; 17 Nobel laureates are affiliated with Stanford University.

There are just under 7,000 undergraduates and 9,000 postgraduates at the university, with a 7:4 student-to-staff ratio.

Stanford University has produced many entrepreneurs and start-ups and was partly responsible for the development of the surrounding Silicon Valley.

The large campus is home to 97 per cent of undergraduates and nearly 700 university buildings, museums, gardens and recreational centres.

Research at Stanford has a $1.22 billion budget and more than 5,000 of its projects are externally funded.

1. University of Oxford

One of the most prestigious universities in the UK has come out on top for the seventh consecutive year.

The University of Oxford is the UK’s oldest university and one of the best known in the world.

There are more than 20,000 students at Oxford, with a roughly equal number of undergraduates and postgraduates.

Admission is extremely competitive; on average the university receives five applications for every place. 

The university employs staff from just under 100 countries and foreign citizens make up about 40 per cent of the student and academic body.

Best universities in Asia
Best universities in South America
Best universities in Africa
Best universities in Latin America
Best universities in Europe
Best universities in the Arab World

Top 200 universities in the world 2024

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 results

 World University Ranking 2024  World University Ranking 2023 University Country/Region
 1   1  University of Oxford United Kingdom
 2   =3  Stanford University United States
 3   5  Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States
 4   2  Harvard University United States
 5   =3  University of Cambridge United Kingdom
 6   7  Princeton University United States
 7   6  California Institute of Technology United States
 8   10  Imperial College London United Kingdom
 9   8  University of California, Berkeley United States
 10   9  Yale University United States
 11   =11  ETH Zurich Switzerland
 12   16  Tsinghua University China
 13   13  The University of Chicago United States
 14   17  Peking University China
 15   15  Johns Hopkins University United States
 16   14  University of Pennsylvania United States
 17   =11  Columbia University United States
 18   21  University of California, Los Angeles United States
 19   19  National University of Singapore Singapore
 20   20  Cornell University United States
 21   18  University of Toronto Canada
 22   22  UCL United Kingdom
 23   23  University of Michigan-Ann Arbor United States
 24   28  Carnegie Mellon University United States
 25   =26  University of Washington United States
 26   25  Duke University United States
 27   24  New York University United States
 28   =26  Northwestern University United States
 29   39  The University of Tokyo Japan
 =30   29  University of Edinburgh United Kingdom
 =30   30  Technical University of Munich Germany
 32   36  Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Singapore
 33   41  École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland
 34   32  University of California, San Diego United States
 35   31  University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
 36   38  Georgia Institute of Technology United States
 37   34  University of Melbourne Australia
 =38   35  King’s College London United Kingdom
 =38   33  LMU Munich Germany
 40   47  Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris France
 41   40  University of British Columbia Canada
 42   48  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign United States
 43   52  Shanghai Jiao Tong University China
 44   51  Fudan University China
 45   42  KU Leuven Belgium
 46   37  London School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom
 47   43  Universität Heidelberg Germany
 48   70  Delft University of Technology Netherlands
 49   46  McGill University Canada
 50   49  Karolinska Institute Sweden
 51   =54  University of Manchester United Kingdom
 52   50  University of Texas at Austin United States
 53   45  Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
 54   44  Monash University Australia
 =55   68  Kyoto University Japan
 =55   67  Zhejiang University China
 57   74  University of Science and Technology of China China
 58   93  Université Paris-Saclay France
 59   63  University of California, Davis United States
 60   =54  University of Sydney Australia
 61   60  University of Amsterdam Netherlands
 62   56  Seoul National University South Korea
 63   81  University of Wisconsin-Madison United States
 =64   61  Brown University United States
 =64   58  The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong
 =64   59  Wageningen University & Research Netherlands
 67   62  Australian National University Australia
 68   57  Washington University in St Louis United States
 69   64  University of California, Santa Barbara United States
 70   53  The University of Queensland Australia
 71   =95  Institut Polytechnique de Paris France
 72   69  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill United States
 73   =95  Nanjing University China
 74   65  University of Southern California United States
 75   90  Sorbonne University France
 76   78  Yonsei University (Seoul campus) South Korea
 77   77  Leiden University Netherlands
 78   =71  Boston University United States
 79   75  University of Groningen Netherlands
 80   =82  University of Zurich Switzerland
 81   76  University of Bristol United Kingdom
 82   =99  City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
 83   =91  Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) South Korea
 84   =71  UNSW Sydney Australia
 85   =101  University of Minnesota United States
 86   127  Purdue University West Lafayette United States
 =87   =82  University of Glasgow United Kingdom
 =87   79  Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong
 =87   =86  Humboldt University of Berlin Germany
 90   =99  RWTH Aachen University Germany
 91   89  University of Bonn Germany
 =92   =95  University of California, Irvine United States
 =92   98  Vanderbilt University United States
 94   73  Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Germany
 =95   =86  University of Tübingen Germany
 =97   155  KTH Royal Institute of Technology Sweden
 =97   =108  University of Southampton United Kingdom
 =99   80  Erasmus University Rotterdam Netherlands
 =99   112  Ohio State University (Main campus) United States
 101   =108  University of Birmingham United Kingdom
 102   =91  Free University of Berlin Germany
 =103   =114  University of Copenhagen Denmark
 =103   85  McMaster University Canada
 105   =114  University of Sheffield United Kingdom
 =106   =82  Emory University United States
 =106   =119  Lund University Sweden
 =106   =104  University of Warwick United Kingdom
 =109   117  Aarhus University Denmark
 =109   118  University of Alberta Canada
 =111   88  University of Adelaide Australia
 =111   =119  University of Göttingen Germany
 =111   111  University of Montreal Canada
 114   =104  University of Maryland, College Park United States
 115   107  Ghent University Belgium
 =116   94  University of Bern Switzerland
 =116   106  Michigan State University United States
 118   181  Texas A&M University United States
 =119   147  Rice University United States
 =119   =124  University of Vienna Austria
 121   110  University of Helsinki Finland
 122   =151  Penn State (Main campus) United States
 =123   =101  University of Basel Switzerland
 =123   191  University of Massachusetts United States
 125   121  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Netherlands
 126   =166  Technical University of Denmark Denmark
 127   126  University of Oslo Norway
 128   113  University of Freiburg Germany
 129   =128  University of Leeds United Kingdom
 =130   130  University of Nottingham United Kingdom
 =130   201–250  Tohoku University Japan
 132   =151  University of Florida United States
 133   154  University of Rochester United States
 134   =161  Trinity College Dublin Ireland
 135   =124  Queen Mary University of London United Kingdom
 =136   =128  University of Hamburg Germany
 =136   =156  Technical University of Berlin Germany
 =138   =148  University of Colorado Boulder United States
 =138   145  Maastricht University Netherlands
 =140   =189  Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Germany
 =140   =139  Radboud University Nijmegen Netherlands
 =140   =148  Uppsala University Sweden
 =143   135  University of Lausanne Switzerland
 =143   =131  The University of Western Australia Australia
 =145   144  University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus United States
 =145   =170  Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) South Korea
 147   =139  University of York United Kingdom
 148   133  University of Technology Sydney Australia
 149   =163  Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) South Korea
 =150   =139  University of Auckland New Zealand
 =150   =196  Sichuan University China
 =152   182  University of Barcelona Spain
 =152   =187  National Taiwan University (NTU) Taiwan
 =152   =114  Université Paris Cité France
 =155   180  University of Arizona United States
 =155   =161  University of Bologna Italy
 =155   122  Lancaster University United Kingdom
 =158   =176  Huazhong University of Science and Technology China
 =158   201–250  University of Waterloo Canada
 160   146  University of Cologne Germany
 =161   =131  University of Antwerp Belgium
 =161   123  Dartmouth College United States
 =161   =156  TU Dresden Germany
 =164   134  Case Western Reserve University United States
 =164   173  Wuhan University China
 166   =156  University of Virginia (Main campus) United States
 167   160  University of Cape Town South Africa
 =168   =170  Université Catholique de Louvain Belgium
 =168   201–250  Eindhoven University of Technology Netherlands
 =168   351–400  Harbin Institute of Technology China
 =168   =176  University of Liverpool United Kingdom
 =168   =139  Newcastle University United Kingdom
 =168   =183  Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa Italy
 174   =198  Durham University United Kingdom
 =175   251–300  Osaka University Japan
 =175   =139  University of Würzburg Germany
 =177   251–300  Beijing Normal University China
 =177   =137  University of Exeter United Kingdom
 =177   =137  University of Ottawa Canada
 180   175  Macquarie University Australia
 181   201–250  Sapienza University of Rome Italy
 182   =156  Arizona State University (Tempe) United States
 183   201–250  University of Geneva Switzerland
 184   251–300  University of Twente Netherlands
 =185   =176  Stockholm University Sweden
 =185   251–300  Tongji University China
 =187   136  Georgetown University United States
 =187   179  University of Mannheim Germany
 189   251–300  Chalmers University of Technology Sweden
 190   =187  Cardiff University United Kingdom
 =191   301–350  Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan
 =191   =151  Tufts University United States
 =193   =196  University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Germany
 =193   201–250  University of Macau Macao
 =193   185  University of Münster Germany
 =193   201–250  University of St Andrews United Kingdom
 =193   =148  Ulm University Germany
 198   =170  Indiana University United States
 =199   201–250  University of Notre Dame United States
 =199   201–250  Queensland University of Technology Australia
 =199   174  Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) South Korea

Editor’s note: As part of our THE statement on Ukraine published on 2 March 2022, Russian universities have been given less prominence in our rankings. Russian universities that met the criteria for this ranking are not displayed in the table above.

register- wide
Join the THE Student community and unlock free benefits

You may also like

Questions

How to use the World University Rankings: frequently asked questions

Practical advice on how to find what you're looking for, with guidance on how to interpret and use the results of university rankings.

September 25 2023
sticky sign up

Register free and enjoy extra benefits