Ranked: The World’s Top Universities Outside of the U.S.

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This chart lists the best universities outside the U.S., according to their global rank by Times Higher Education.

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Ranked: Top Universities Outside the U.S.

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Key Takeaways

  • Outside of the U.S., the UK has the next most top-100 universities (12) in the world, led by Oxford and Cambridge
  • Germany is second at eight and China third with seven.
  • As a region, Europe accounts for 36 of the top-100 non-American universities.

International interest in studying in the U.S. is plummeting according to data released to University World News.

For context, the U.S. has cornered the market on higher education, accounting for around one-third of the top-100 universities.

However, growing visa rejection rates amidst changing U.S. immigration policy, along with executive orders targeting education are impacting sentiments.

So for the international students looking: where are all the best universities outside the United States?

We list all the best non-U.S. universities according to their global rank by Times Higher Education.

ℹ Missing ranks indicate the spots American universities usually fill. Tied ranks are in place.

Ranked: Best Universities Outside America

Oxford and Cambridge lead the top-ranked universities outside America.

In fact, the UK has 12 universities in this ranking, the most for any one country.

Global Rank University Country Region
1 University of Oxford 🇬🇧 UK Europe
5 University of Cambridge 🇬🇧 UK Europe
9 Imperial College London 🇬🇧 UK Europe
11 ETH Zurich 🇨🇭 Switzerland Europe
12 Tsinghua University 🇨🇳 China Asia-Pacific
13 Peking University 🇨🇳 China Asia-Pacific
17 National University
of Singapore		 🇸🇬 Singapore Asia-Pacific
21 University of Toronto 🇨🇦 Canada North America
22 UCL 🇬🇧 UK Europe
26 Technical University
of Munich		 🇩🇪 Germany Europe
28 The University of Tokyo 🇯🇵 Japan Asia-Pacific
29 University of Edinburgh 🇬🇧 UK Europe
30 Nanyang
Technological
University		 🇸🇬 Singapore Asia-Pacific
32 École Polytechnique
Fédérale de Lausanne		 🇨🇭 Switzerland Europe
35 University of Hong Kong 🇭🇰 Hong Kong Asia-Pacific
36 Fudan University 🇨🇳 China Asia-Pacific
36 King’s College London 🇬🇧 UK Europe
38 LMU Munich 🇩🇪 Germany Europe
39 University of Melbourne 🇦🇺 Australia Asia-Pacific
41 University of British Columbia 🇨🇦 Canada North America
42 Paris Sciences et Lettres 🇫🇷 France Europe
43 KU Leuven 🇧🇪 Belgium Europe
44 The Chinese
University of
Hong Kong		 🇭🇰 Hong Kong Asia-Pacific
45 McGill University 🇨🇦 Canada North America
47 Universität Heidelberg 🇩🇪 Germany Europe
47 Zhejiang University 🇨🇳 China Asia-Pacific
49 Karolinska Institute 🇸🇪 Sweden Europe
50 London School of
Economics and
Political Science		 🇬🇧 UK Europe
52 Shanghai Jiao
Tong University		 🇨🇳 China Asia-Pacific
53 University of
Manchester		 🇬🇧 UK Europe
53 University of
Science and
Technology of China		 🇨🇳 China Asia-Pacific
55 Kyoto University 🇯🇵 Japan Asia-Pacific
56 Delft University
of Technology		 🇳🇱 Netherlands Europe
58 Monash University 🇦🇺 Australia Asia-Pacific
58 University of Amsterdam 🇳🇱 Netherlands Europe
61 The University
of Sydney		 🇦🇺 Australia Asia-Pacific
62 Seoul National
University		 🇰🇷 South Korea Asia-Pacific
64 Université Paris-Saclay 🇫🇷 France Europe
65 Nanjing University 🇨🇳 China Asia-Pacific
66 The Hong Kong
University of Science
and Technology		 🇭🇰 Hong Kong Asia-Pacific
67 Wageningen
University & Research		 🇳🇱 Netherlands Europe
71 Institut Polytechnique
de Paris		 🇫🇷 France Europe
73 Australian National
University		 🇦🇺 Australia Asia-Pacific
73 Leiden University 🇳🇱 Netherlands Europe
76 Sorbonne University 🇫🇷 France Europe
77 The University
of Queensland		 🇦🇺 Australia Asia-Pacific
78 City University
of Hong Kong		 🇭🇰 Hong Kong Asia-Pacific
78 University of Bristol 🇬🇧 UK Europe
80 University of Groningen 🇳🇱 Netherlands Europe
82 KAIST 🇰🇷 South Korea Asia-Pacific
83 UNSW Sydney 🇦🇺 Australia Asia-Pacific
84 Humboldt University
of Berlin		 🇩🇪 Germany Europe
84 The Hong Kong
Polytechnic
University		 🇭🇰 Hong Kong Asia-Pacific
87 University of
Glasgow		 🇬🇧 UK Europe
89 University of Bonn 🇩🇪 Germany Europe
92 RWTH Aachen
University		 🇩🇪 Germany Europe
93 Charité –
Universitätsmedizin
Berlin		 🇩🇪 Germany Europe
93 University of
Birmingham		 🇬🇧 UK Europe
95 KTH Royal Institute
of Technology		 🇸🇪 Sweden Europe
95 Lund University 🇸🇪 Sweden Europe
97 University of
Copenhagen		 🇩🇰 Denmark Europe
98 University of Sheffield 🇬🇧 UK Europe
100 University of Tübingen 🇩🇪 Germany Europe

Second places goes to Germany with eight top-100 schools, led by two Munich universities.

China is third at seven, that number jumping to 12 if including the universities in Hong Kong.

As a region however, Europe is clearly an academia and research hotspot, with 36 universities in the top 100.

These include the aforementioned UK and Germany universities but also known big names from Switzerland (ETH Zurich), France (PSL), and Netherlands (University of Amsterdam).

Outside Europe, good universities can also be found in Singapore, Australia, and Canada.

There is a notable absence of internationally ranked universities from South America and Africa.

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