International students react to QS rankings as competition intensifies

Seventeen UK universities now rank in the global top 100 of the QS World University Rankings 2026, with Sheffield and Nottingham rejoining the list. Still, 61% of UK institutions saw their place in the rankings drop, amid rising global competition.

Overall, 24 UK institutions saw their positions improve, 11 remained stable, and 54 – accounting for 61% – dropped in the rankings. This pattern reflects a wider trend, where institutions in other countries are advancing more rapidly. For example, seven of Ireland’s eight universities climbed in the rankings, along with nine of 13 in the Netherlands and six of seven in Hong Kong.

Notably, Imperial College London holds steady as being ranked the world’s second-best university, only trailing Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US. Meanwhile, Oxford, Cambridge, and UCL have ket their places in the global top 10 – though Oxford and Cambridge slipped one place each due to Stanford’s climb to third.

However, the UK remains the second most represented country in the rankings, with 90 institutions on the list, only behind the United States with 192. International students studying at prominent UK universities spoke to The PIE News about how they perceived their university’s place on the list – with both expressing positivity about their institution’s ranking.

The University of Edinburgh experienced a modest drop, falling from 27th to 34th place globally. Seeing the drop in position, Sean Xia, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, commented that they weren’t too disappointed to see the university’s QS ranking drop in recent years. “I am still proud seeing us staying in the top 50 universities in the world and it shows effort from all of us, especially when the funding situation is getting much more difficult than the past years,” they told The PIE.

“I believe the ranking will eventually be fluctuated back in the future as long as we keep the research quality world-class.”

I am still proud seeing us staying in the top 50 universities in the world and it shows effort from all of us, especially when the funding situation is getting much more difficult than the past years
_{^{Sean Xia, international student at University of Edinburgh}}

Two UK universities – Sheffield and Nottingham – made a notworthy return to the top 100, now ranked 92nd and 97th respectively. The strongest gain came from Oxford Brookes University, which jumped 42 places to 374th, marking the biggest single improvement for a UK institution this year. Other major climbers include Strathclyde, Aston, Surrey, Birkbeck, and Bradford, each rising by at least 20 places.

20 best-performing UK universities in 2026 World University Rankings
UK Rank	2026 Rank	2025 Rank	Institution
1	2	2	Imperial College London
2	4	3	University of Oxford
3	6	5	University of Cambridge
4	9	9	UCL (University College London)
5	31	=40	King’s College London (KCL)
6	34	27	University of Edinburgh
7	35	=34	The University of Manchester
8	51	54	University of Bristol
9	56	=50	London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
10	74	=69	The University of Warwick
11	76	=80	University of Birmingham
12	79	78	University of Glasgow
13	86	=82	University of Leeds
14	87	=80	University of Southampton
15	92	=105	The University of Sheffield
16	=94	=89	Durham University
17	97	108	The University of Nottingham
18	=110	=120	Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)
19	113	104	University of St Andrews
20	=132	=150	University of Bath
© QS Quacquarelli Symonds 2004-2025, TopUniversities.com

The University of Liverpool stood out among Russell Group members, climbing from 165th in this year to joint 147th in 2025, making it the most improved among the group.

Derek Zhou, a PhD candidate of the University of Liverpool, proudly stated: “As a PhD student who also got my MSc degree at the University of Liverpool, I am glad to see our university can rank among top 150. We are proud to say we are stepping exactly towards our aim which is to be the top 100 university before 2031.”

“I am also happy to see our academic research getting a higher rank than before. This means all of our research is truly contributing to the world and we are heard by the world,” he added.

Most improved non-Russell Group universities in 2026
2026 Rank	2025 Rank	Institution	Rank in UK
374	=416	Oxford Brookes University	38
=251	=281	University of Strathclyde	30
=395	=423	Aston University	42
=262	=285	University of Surrey	31=
=388	=408	Birkbeck College, University of London	41
=511	=531	University of Bradford	47=
=132	=150	University of Bath	20
=461	=477	Royal Holloway University of London	46
=456	=472	University of Essex	45
292	=298	Swansea University	35
=613	661-670	University of Plymouth	57
721-730	741-750	UWE Bristol (University of the West of England)	62
801-850	851-900	University of Lincoln	64=

Commenting on the rankings, Jessica Turner, CEO of QS, noted that the UK’s place as a coveted study destination could be at risk.

“While the analysis outlines detailed performances on a wide range of metrics for each institution, the picture for the wider country as a whole is more worrying,” she said.

She added: “The UK government is seeking to slash capital funding in a higher education system that has already sustained financial pressure, introduce an international student levy and shorten the length of the Graduate Visa route to 18 months from two years.

“This could accumulate in a negative impact on the quality and breadth of higher education courses and research undertaken across the country. While the UK government has placed research and development as a key part of the recent spending review, universities across the country will need more support to ensure their stability going ahead. “

And she noted that competing study destinations around the world are pouring investment into higher education and research. This is contributing to a global shift of higher education power seen through the 2026 QS World University Rankings – the US, UK, Australia, and Canada – are increasingly challenged by emerging study destinations across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Among the big four, the United States remains the strongest performer in the QS rankings. With 192 ranked institutions, it improved the rank of 42% of its institutions. In contrast, the UK maintained its four universities in the top 20, while Australia lost one, signalling a subtle rebalancing in prestige.

Both the US and UK also saw one university each drop out of the top 50, while South Korea added one to the elite group, reflecting broader diversification in academic excellence.

Emerging players are quickly gaining ground. China’s top institutions continue their upward march: Tsinghua University climbed to 17th, and Fudan University rose nine places to 30th. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Italy entered the top 100 for the first time, with King Fahd University at 67th and Politecnico di Milano at 98th, respectively.

The momentum extends beyond Asia. Ireland, Malaysia, the UAE, Germany, and New Zealand are among 26 countries where at least 50% of ranked institutions improved this year. Germany, notably, reversed a prior decline to see more universities rise than fall, while Hong Kong emerged as the world’s second most improved system, just behind Ireland.

“This retrospective data shows that policy and changes in higher education directly impact the rankings,” Turner added. “While emerging markets such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the UAE continue to improve, there is still a long way to go until they compete with the traditional study destinations of the UK, US, Australia and Canada.”

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