QS World University Rankings 2026: India Shines with 54 Institutions, IIT Delhi Ranks 123rd Globally

Thu Jun 19 2025

Created By -

Ayush Sharma

The QS World University Rankings 2026 are released on 18 June 2025, featuring the best universities from around the world. For the continuous 14th year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA ranks in the number 1 position. Imperial College London moved up to second place, and Stanford University is now third. Indian universities are also doing well, with IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, and IIT Madras making it to the list of top universities globally. This year’s rankings include over 1,500 universities from more than 100 countries, showing how education is growing and changing worldwide.

Key Highlights of QS World Rankings 2026

MIT is No. 1 Again: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA is ranked the world’s best university for the 14th year in a row.
Imperial College London Rankings Improve: Imperial College London is now the second-best university in the world.
Stanford University Jumps to Third: Stanford University in the United States has now secured the third position.
US and UK Dominate Top 10: Most of the top 10 universities are from the United States and the United Kingdom.
India’s Progress: India has 54 universities on the list. The top Indian university is IIT Delhi, ranked 123rd. It is followed by IIT Bombay at 129th and IIT Madras at 180th.
China’s Rise: Chinese universities are moving up, with Fudan University entering the global top 30 for the first time.

Top 10 Universities in the World (2026)

Here are the top 10 universities in the world as per QS world rankings for the year 2026:

Rank	University	Location
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	Cambridge, USA
2	Imperial College London	London, UK
3	Stanford University	Stanford, USA
4	University of Oxford	Oxford, UK
5	Harvard University	Cambridge, USA
6	University of Cambridge	Cambridge, UK
7	ETH Zurich	Zürich, Switzerland
8	National University of Singapore (NUS)	Singapore
9	University College London (UCL)	London, UK
10	California Institute of Technology (Caltech)	Pasadena, USA

Top 10 Indian Universities in QS World University Rankings 2026

In India, there are 54 universities that ranked this year. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi is the country’s top-ranked university, breaking into the global top 125. Below is the list of the top 10 Indian universities:

Rank in India	University Name	Global Rank
1	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi	123
2	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay	129
3	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras	180
4	Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore	211
5	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur	222
6	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur	263
7	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee	335
8	University of Delhi	406
9	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati	418
10	Anna University	427

Comparison of Indian Universities in QS World University Rankings 2025 vs 2026

Rank in India	University Name	2025 Global Rank	2026 Global Rank	Change in Rank (2025 → 2026)
1	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi	150	123	27 (Improved)
2	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay	118	129	-11 (Dropped)
3	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras	227	180	47 (Improved
4	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur	Not Ranked	215	New Entry
5	Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore	211	219	-8 (Slight Drop)
6	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur	Not Ranked	222	New Entry
7	University of Delhi	328	328	No Change
8	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati	Not Ranked	334	New Entry
9	Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee	Not Ranked	339	New Entry
10	Anna University	Not Ranked	465	New Entry