The University of Oxford has once again claimed the top spot in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, marking its 10th straight year as the world’s leading university.

As the oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford continues to set the standard for academic excellence on the global stage.

Joining Oxford in the top 10 are two other UK institutions: the University of Cambridge, which climbed from fifth to a shared third place this year, and Imperial College London, which secured the eighth spot. In total, 11 UK universities made it into the global top 100.

Professor Irene Tracey, Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor, said the university was “honoured” to hold the number one position once again.

"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," she said.

The Times Higher Education (THE) rankings, first published in 2004, are among the most respected in the world. This year’s results were based on the analysis of nearly 19 million research papers, 1.5 million survey responses, and data from more than 30,000 universities. Out of 2,191 institutions ranked, 109 were from the UK — but for the first time, fewer than 50 of them made it into the top 500.

That shift places the UK as the fourth most represented country overall, behind the United States, India, and Japan.

Phil Baty, THE’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, warned that the results highlight troubling signs for the UK’s higher education system. Photo by Peter Trimming, Wikimedia commons.

"This year's rankings highlight a dramatic and accelerating trend – the shift in the balance of power in research and higher education excellence from the long-established, dominant institutions of the West to rising stars of the East," he said.