Oxford University leads THE World University Rankings 2027; IISc tops India at 254

The University of Oxford has retained the number one position in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027, extending its run at the top of the global table to 11 consecutive years.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has remained second, while Princeton University and Stanford University share the third position. The University of Cambridge is fifth, followed by Harvard University at sixth.

California Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, the University of California, Berkeley, and Yale University complete the top 10.


The top 10 remains dominated by institutions from the US and UK. Seven universities in the top 10 are from the US and three are from the UK.

Oxford, however, has only a narrow lead over MIT. THE said the difference between the two institutions' overall scores is just 0.1 points. Oxford performed strongly on areas including research productivity, international co-authorship and the doctorate-to-staff ratio, while MIT performed better on student-to-staff ratio, citation impact and research strength.

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For Indian students looking at universities in the US or UK, the latest table shows that these two destinations continue to account for most of the institutions at the very top of global higher education rankings.

Below is the list of top 10 universities listed on THE:

Name of the university	Location
University of Oxford	Oxford, United Kingdom
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	Cambridge, United States
Princeton University	Princeton, United States
Stanford University	Stanford, United States
University of Cambridge	Cambridge, United Kingdom
Harvard University	Cambridge, United States
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)	Pasadena, United States
Imperial College London	London, United Kingdom
University of California, Berkeley	Berkeley, United States
Yale University	New Haven, United States

IISc is India's highest-ranked university

Against this global backdrop, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is the highest-ranked Indian institution in the 2027 rankings, placed at 254th globally.

IISc was in the 201-250 band in the previous edition. Its latest overall score is 57.0, with its strongest reported performance coming in the research environment, where it scored 98.0. It scored 62.1 for teaching and 58.6 for research quality.

The ranking means India does not have a university inside the global top 250 this year, even though the number of Indian institutions included in the overall rankings has increased.

This distinction is important for Indian students. A country's growing representation in a global ranking indicates that more of its universities are being assessed and recognised internationally, but it does not necessarily mean that its highest-ranked institutions are moving closer to the global leaders.

143 Indian universities make the list

A total of 143 Indian universities feature in the THE World University Rankings 2027, 15 more than the previous year.

India is the second-most represented country overall, behind the US, and the most represented country in Asia. More than 1,000 Asian institutions appear in this year's rankings, compared with 929 in the previous edition.

After IISc, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences is India's next highest-ranked institution, placed in the 326-350 band.

Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences follows in the 451-500 band. Jamia Millia Islamia and KIIT University are both placed in the 501-550 band.

These five institutions make up the highest-ranked group of Indian universities in the latest edition.

THE's own India listing also places IISc at joint 254th, followed by Saveetha in the 326-350 band, Shoolini in the 451-500 band, and Jamia Millia Islamia and KIIT in the 501-550 band.

Asian universities move higher

China's Tsinghua University has climbed to 11th place, moving ahead of Switzerland's ETH Zurich. Peking University is ranked 13th, while the National University of Singapore (NUS) has risen two places to 15th.

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This puts three Asian universities in the global top 15 for the first time.

The change is part of a wider movement in the latest rankings. Asian universities have increased their representation and performance, with institutions in Eastern Asia and the ASEAN region recording improvements in several areas, particularly research.

China has also increased the number of universities it has in the global top 200 from 13 to 17. Seventy-one per cent of those Chinese institutions improved their positions this year.

For Indian students considering overseas education, this could broaden the options available beyond traditional destinations. Universities in Singapore, China, Japan, South Korea and other Asian education markets are increasingly competing at higher levels of global rankings.

US and UK still dominate top 10

The rise of Asian universities does not mean the traditional leaders have lost their position at the top.

The US has seven universities in the top 10 and 53 institutions in the top 200. The UK has 25 universities in the top 200.

At the same time, THE has reported declines across several measures for universities in both countries. US institutions recorded weaker performance across a majority of metrics, including research strength, citation impact and international students.

In the UK, THE pointed to financial pressure on higher education institutions, with institutional income, research income and industry income declining relative to the rest of the world.

The latest results therefore show a widening competition between established Western institutions and universities in Asia, rather than an immediate change at the very top of the table.