Top universities in the world 2023

<p>The QS World University Rankings 2023 has been released, featuring over 1,400 universities from around the world. Our biggest ever university rankings, this year’s table covers 100 study destinations with the US, UK and mainland China the most-represented.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If you’re at the start of your university research, a global ranking like ours can be an easy way to begin building a shortlist of institutions. It’s also worth cross-referring this ranking with our <a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/subject-rankings/2022">QS World University Rankings by Subject</a>, which will provide more detail on how each university scores for its teaching in particular subjects and subject areas.&nbsp;</p>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 500px;"><tbody><tr><td class="text-align-center" colspan="3"><strong>QS World University Rankings 2023: Top global universities</strong></td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;"><strong>Rank</strong></td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><strong>University</strong></td>
<td><strong>Location</strong></td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">1</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/massachusetts-institute-technology-mit">Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)</a></td>
<td>United States</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">2</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-cambridge">University of Cambridge</a></td>
<td>United Kingdom</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">3</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/stanford-university">Stanford University</a></td>
<td>United States</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">4</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-oxford">University of Oxford</a></td>
<td>United Kingdom</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">5</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/harvard-university">Harvard University</a></td>
<td>United States</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">=6</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/california-institute-technology-caltech">California Institute of Technology (Caltech)</a></td>
<td>United States</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">=6</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/imperial-college-london">Imperial College London</a></td>
<td>United Kingdom</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">8</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/ucl">UCL</a></td>
<td>United Kingdom</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">9</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/eth-zurich">ETH Zurich</a></td>
<td>Switzerland</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">10</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-chicago">University of Chicago</a></td>
<td>United States</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">11</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/national-university-singapore-nus">National University of Singapore (NUS)</a></td>
<td>Singapore</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">12</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/peking-university">Peking University</a></td>
<td>Mainland China</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">13</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-pennsylvania">University of Pennsylvania</a></td>
<td>United States</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">14</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/tsinghua-university">Tsinghua University</a></td>
<td>Mainland China</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">15</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-edinburgh">University of Edinburgh</a></td>
<td>United Kingdom</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">=16</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/epfl">EPFL</a></td>
<td>Switzerland</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">=16</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/princeton-university">Princeton University</a></td>
<td>United States</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">18</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/yale-university">Yale University</a></td>
<td>United States</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">19</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/nanyang-technological-university-singapore-ntu">Nanyang Technological University (NTU)</a></td>
<td>Singapore</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 50px;">20</td>
<td style="width: 313px;"><a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/cornell-university">Cornell University</a></td>
<td>United States</td>
</tr></tbody></table><p>For the 11th year in a row, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) remains the world’s number one university by our metrics. The University of Cambridge has climbed above the University of Oxford to now be the top university in the UK, while Stanford University and Harvard University have retained their position from last year.  </p>

<p>While there are no new entrants in this year’s top 10, Cornell University has climbed back into the world’s top 20, having fallen out last year. Peking University continues to climb the rankings having risen from 38th five years ago to now be ranked 12th. </p>