Top universities in the world 2023

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. 

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 QS World University Rankings by Subject, which will provide more detail on how each university scores for its teaching in particular subjects and subject areas. 

What are the top universities in the world? 

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.  

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. 

What’s it like to study at MIT? 

MIT is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a university town of under 150,000 inhabitants. This town is also home to Harvard University – making it one of the world’s most prestigious hubs of academic tuition and research.  

Cambridge is close to Boston, one of the most culturally vibrant and historic cities in the Northeast US. International students account for around 29 percent of enrolments at MIT.   

MIT offers some of the most generous financial aid packages among US universities – with around 38 percent of its undergraduates receiving scholarships or grants equal to or greater than the cost of their tuition, with 26 percent of students graduating debt-free.   

MIT is also one of a handful of elite US institutions which offer need-blind admission for all undergraduate candidates, including those from outside the US. This means students’ ability to pay is not considered during the application process, and, once a place has been offered, the university pledges to contribute enough to make attendance possible. 

Learn more about studying in the US. 

What’s changed in this year’s ranking? 

This year’s ranking features two new indicators - International Research Network and Employment Outcomes. 

These are both unweighted this year, which means they don’t affect the overall score or rank of a university. Instead, they have been included so QS can gather feedback from institutions ahead of fully including them within the ranking in next year’s methodology.