According to Times Higher Education (THE)’ latest ‘World Reputation Rankings 2025’, Harvard University based in the United States of America (USA) retained top position as the world’s most reputed institution for the 14th consecutive year, with an overall score of 99.9.
- USA-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and United Kingdom (UK)-based University of Oxford jointly shared 2nd position on the list and both secured the overall score of 99.7. This marks the highest position for any institution from the UK since 2015.
- This year, only 4 Indian universities/institutions featured on the list. Also, all these institutions witnessed a drop in their rankings compared to the 2023 edition.
About World Reputation Rankings 2025:
i.This latest edition of rankings has featured as many as 300 institutions (increase from 200 in last edition) from 38 countries and territories worldwide.
ii.These institutions are ranked based on their international academic prestige and they are judged by 5,500 academics across the world.
iii.The rankings are evaluated using a methodology that comprises 6 key parameters such as: research vote count, teaching vote count, research pairwise comparison, teaching pairwise comparison, research voter diversity, and teaching vote diversity.
World’s Top 5 Reputed Universities:
| Rank | Name of the University | Name of the Country or Region | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvard University | The United States of America (USA) | 99.9 |
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | The USA | 99.7 |
| University of Oxford | The United Kingdom, (UK) | ||
| 4 | Stanford University | The USA | 99.6 |
| University of Cambridge | The UK | ||
| 6 | University of California, Berkeley | The USA | 98.7 |
| 7 | Princeton University | The USA | 95.1 |
India Specific:
i.Bengaluru (Karnataka)-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) saw drop in its ranking from 101-123 (in 2023) to 201-300, with overall score within the range of 26.9-34.2.
ii.Similarly, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-D) based in Delhi, slipped to 201-300 (in 2025) from 151-175 (in 2023).
- While Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN), ranked in the range of 201-300, down from 176-200 (in 2023).
- Also, Mumbai (Maharashtra)-based Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) which was featured in the previous edition of rankings in 151-175 range, has not been included in 2025 rankings.
iii.Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA), which is a private deemed-to-be university based in Bhubaneswar (Odisha) debuted in the latest edition of rankings and has been ranked in the 201-300, with overall score of 26.9-34.2.
Top Indian Universities/Institutes:
| Rank | Name of the University | Name of the State | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201-300 | Indian Institute of Science (IISc) | Bengaluru, Karnataka | 26.9-34.2 |
| 201-300 | Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-D) | New Delhi, Delhi | 26.9-34.2 |
| 201-300 | Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) | Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN) | 26.9-34.2 |
| 201-300 | Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) | Bhubaneswar, Odisha | 26.9-34.2 |
Key Highlights:
i.Among top 10 universities on the list, 6 are from the USA, followed by the UK (2), China (1) and Japan (1).
ii.This year total 10 new countries featured in 2025 rankings: Argentina, Chile, Turkey, Czechia, Mexico, New Zealand, among others.
- Among these 10 new countries on the list, 4 countries debuted on the list: Chile, Malaysia, Poland and Portugal.
iii.USA topped as the most-represented country on the list, with 71 universities/institutions, followed by UK (39), Germany (27), France (13), Italy (13), the Netherlands (13) and Canada (12).
Region-wise Representation:
i.The rankings featured 153 European universities from 17 countries/territories. The most-represented country from Europe region is the UK, with 39 institutions on the list.
ii.As per THE report, 45 institutions (accounting 15% of 300 ranked institutions), are from Asia region. The most-represented country from Asia region is Japan with 11 institutions featured on the list.
- Tsinghua University (China) ranked at 8th position globally (overall score of 92.2), has topped among all Asian institutions featured on the list.
- And, University of Tokyo (Japan) is the only other Asian institution in the top 10.
About Times Higher Education (THE):
THE(formerly The Times Higher Education Supplement-The Thes), is a British magazine reporting on news and issues related to higher education.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Paul Howarth
Headquarters- London, United Kingdom
