Oxford University has been world number one in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings since 2017 - the longest time any university has held the position in the 21 annual editions of the rankings.
Oxford University has once again topped the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, with a record 2,191 universities having been ranked from 115 countries.
Oxford has been world number one since 2017 - the longest time any university has held the position in the 21 annual editions of the rankings. Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) are the only other universities to have topped the rankings.
Professor Irene Tracey, CBE, FRS, FMedSci, Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford, said: 'We are honoured that Oxford has been ranked number one globally by Times Higher Education for the tenth year in a row. The THE rankings, rooted in internationally competitive research and teaching excellence, are recognised worldwide as a vigorous and demanding benchmark of university performance. This achievement reflects the dedication of our academics, professional services staff and students, but it comes at a time of real strain for UK higher education. Sustaining a dynamic and globally competitive sector requires renewed investment and support, so that universities can continue to drive discovery, opportunity and economic growth for future generations.'
Sustaining a dynamic and globally competitive sector requires renewed investment and support, so that universities can continue to drive discovery, opportunity and economic growth for future generations.
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey
Phil Baty, THE's Chief Global Affairs Officer, said: 'At a time of extraordinarily intense competition in global higher education, research and innovation, it is truly remarkable for the University of Oxford to have maintained its place as the world number one university in the rigorous Times Higher Education World University Rankings for ten years in a row. Oxford holds its position at the top of the world against better-funded US institutions and rapidly rising research powerhouses in East Asia, led by China.
The key to success, is of course strength across the full range of 18 performance metrics deployed by the THE world rankings - which range across the teaching and research environments, research excellence, industry outreach and international outlook - but I think it is Oxford's resolute international focus and commitment to international talent attraction and cross-boarder knowledge sharing, that really helps it hold on to the top position.'
International outlook
The process for the THE World Rankings is a rigorous piece of research built on an analysis of almost 19 million research papers, 1.5 million votes in an Academic Reputation Survey and detailed institutional data on over 3,000 universities worldwide.
The ranking is based on 18 specific metrics, covering all core missions of global, research-led universities, grouped into five areas: Teaching (the learning environment, with teaching reputation weighted highest in this metric); Research environment (volume, income and reputation); Research quality (citation impact, research strength, research excellence and research influence); International outlook (staff, students and research); and Industry (income and patents).
Oxford came out exceptionally strong across all metrics used in the ranking, but has a particular advantage on its research environment (which includes academic reputation for research, funding success and research productivity) and on international outlook (which includes international research collaboration, and attraction of international talent, both staff and students).
News about the results of the rankings was announced to around 800 international guests at the World Academic Summit on the night of October 8.
Oxford was followed in the THE World Rankings 2025 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with Cambridge and Princeton tied for third in the rankings.
