QS World University Ranking 2026: the latest ranking confirms French positions

Ranked among the most prestigious university listings, the QS World University Rankings is published annually by Quacquarelli Symonds, a company that describes itself as “the world’s leading provider of higher education insights and solutions.” To design its ranking, which closely examines over 1,500 institutions across more than 100 countries, QS relies on five main criteria. Chief among them is research, which assesses “the quality, volume, and academic reputation of an institution’s research output.” Another key factor is academic reputation, gauged by “asking academic experts to identify the universities they consider strongest in their field of expertise.” Additional indicators include employability, which considers how well an institution “prepares its graduates for the job market and the strength of its industry connections,” as well as sustainability, which “offers students a unique perspective on universities that demonstrate a commitment to a more sustainable future.” The final criterion is global engagement, which aims to “capture the overall international outlook of a university, by measuring the diversity of its student body and staff, along with its international research collaborations.”

Four Universities in the Top 100

In a ranking of the “world’s best universities” that traditionally favors Anglo-Saxon institutions, but this year highlights the rise of Asian universities, Europe and France have nonetheless managed to maintain their standing, with 489 and 35 institutions represented, respectively. 

Four French institutions are ranked among the world’s top 100:

• PSL (Paris Sciences & Lettres), ranked 28th. For the fourth year in a row, PSL University secures a spot in the global top 30. According to the institution, “this ranking reflects the remarkable impact of its research, the breadth of its international scientific collaborations, and the strength of its academic and professional reputation.”
• Institut Polytechnique de Paris (41st, up five positions).
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  Home to founding member École Polytechnique, the institute climbs five spots in the QS 2026 rankings. It highlights that the school “stands out for employer reputation and ranks 25th worldwide in employment outcomes.”
• Université Paris-Saclay (71st, up three positions). The university of Paris-Saclay commented the results saying that it “confirms its position in the global top 100 with a three-place rise,” a progression driven by “improving indicators, such as sustainable resource management (up 163 positions in this category in a single year), professional reputation, and student-to-faculty ratio.”
• Sorbonne University (72nd), which earned particularly high marks for its “academic reputation” and “international research network.”

Based on this year’s Top 100, France retains its position as the 8th-best represented country in the world.

Ten additional French institutions in the Top 500

Beyond the highly coveted Top 100, ten additional French universities, more geographically diverse, feature in the global Top 500. These include:

• École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (205th), recognized for its strong research performance and student-to-faculty ratio;
• Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (257th), with a notable score in employability;
• Université Paris Cité (300th), particularly distinguished for its international research network;
• l’Université Grenoble Alpes (321st);
• Sciences Po Paris (367th);
• INSA Lyon (406th);
• Université de Strasbourg (420th);
• Université d’Aix-Marseille (428th);
• l’Université de Montpellier (430th);
• Université de Bordeaux (494th).

Further down the list, between 500th and 1000th place, nine other institutions, also located outside Paris and the Île-de-France region, stand out: Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse 3, Université de Lille, Université Côte d’Azur, Université de Rennes, Université de Lorraine, Université de Nantes, Université de Franche-Comté, and CY Cergy Paris Université.

Finally, between 1000th and 1500th place, twelve more universities, again highlighting the strength of regional institutions, earn recognition: Université Paris Panthéon-Assas, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Université Paris Nord – Paris 13, Université Toulouse 1 – Capitole, Université de Bretagne Occidentale (a new entrant this year), Université Paul Valéry – Montpellier, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, Université Paris-Nanterre, Université de Caen-Normandie, Université de Limoges, Université de Poitiers, and Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès.

In total, 35 French institutions are present in the global rankings, one more than in the 2025 edition.