The Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked as the top U.S. university.
iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus
Just 96 U.S. universities rate among the top 500 research-intensive institutions in the world, according to the latest global rankings from Times Higher Education.
That’s the lowest number for the United States since Inside Higher Ed’s parent company started the rankings in 2004. For the 2027 World Academic Rankings, THE evaluated nearly 2,300 institutions, gauging their performance in five areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook.
The U.S. was the most represented country in the rankings with 168 universities, though that’s a slight drop from last year’s 171. Over all, 55 American universities saw their position drop—36 received their worst-ever scores.
Similar to previous iterations of the rankings, the U.S. dominated the global top 10, with seven on the list. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology held on to its No. 2 spot but closed in on the University of Oxford, which has ranked first for 11 years. This year, Oxford scored just one-10th of a point higher than MIT, which THE says is the “slimmest ever margin” between the top two universities.
“In the end, Oxford’s higher research productivity, international co-authorship and doctorates-to-staff ratio just edges out MIT, which has a better student-staff ratio, citation impact and research strength,” a THE fact sheet states.
Meanwhile, universities in China, Singapore and other Asian countries continue to rise in the rankings; three cracked the top 15 for the first time ever. They includes the National University of Singapore, which overtook the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University to claim the 15th spot.
Phil Baty, THE’s chief global affairs officer, said in a statement that the rankings show “the tectonic plates of global higher education are shifting permanently” and suggest “a historic realignment of academic power from West to East.”
“There are many symbolic landmarks in the 2027 rankings: the lowest number of U.S. universities we have ever had in the world top 200 and the highest ever for China; the first time we have three Asian universities in the world top 15; top U.S. institutions such as Chicago, Johns Hopkins and Duke pushed down by rising Asian universities,” Baty added. “But the underlying data show that the seismic shift runs deeper than the eye-catching headlines—we are entering a new era that will remake the geography of academic excellence.”
Some U.S. universities saw a boost in the 2027 rankings. According to THE, the University of California, San Diego, improved the most, rising 10 spots to 37th. That increase was “mainly driven by improvements in reputation and publications per staff,” according to the release.
THE also noted that Michigan State and Ohio State Universities returned to the top 100 because of improved reputation scores.
