TEHRAN – The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 has placed 101 Iranian universities among the top institutions, up from 85 universities in 2025.

The 2026 rankings include 2,191 ranked universities from 115 countries and territories. There are 99 new entries compared with last year.

The THE World University Rankings are the only global performance tables that judge research-intensive universities across all their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.

The latest methodology includes 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons, trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry, and governments. One of the metrics (study abroad) currently has zero weight, but it is planned to be included in the future.

Amirkabir University of Technology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, and Sharif University of Technology are among the top Iranian universities, with a global ranking of 351-400.

Iran University of Science and Technology, and University of Tehran are jointly placed second, ranking 401-500 globally. Shiraz University of Technology and Tehran University of Medical Sciences ranked third collectively, with a global ranking of 501-600.

Twelve other universities are ranked 601-800 worldwide, including Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Golesran University, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan University of Technology, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, University of Tabriz, and Urmia University of Medical Sciences.

In the University rankings 2026, Oxford retains the number one spot for the tenth consecutive year, driven by a strong research environment score. Princeton rises to joint third place and is the only US university to achieve its best-ever finish this year. China has five universities in the top 40, up from three last year, but top universities remain steady. Hong Kong occupies a record six spots in the top 200 as a result of improvements in teaching metrics. India now has the second-highest number of ranked universities for the first time, behind only the US.

Latest rankings

The 2024 World University Rankings (WUR) report by the Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC) has included 72 Iranian universities, up from 69 in 2023. A total of 426 universities from 31 Islamic countries are listed in the ranking, where Turkey, with 102 universities and Iran, with 72 universities, and Pakistan, with 39 universities, are placed first to third, IRNA reported.

Among the top universities of Islamic countries, Saudi Arabia ranks 172. Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Egypt jointly rank 401–450, Qatar ranks 451–500, and Turkey, the UAE, and Lebanon rank 501–600.

Tehran University’s ranking has changed from 501-600 in 2023 to 401-500 in 2024. The University is placed first in the country. Tehran University of Medical Sciences ranks second. The university’s global ranking is 501-600, up from 601-700 in 2023.

Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences’ ranking has also improved from 801-900 in 2023 to 601-700 in 2024, ranking third in the country. Sharif University of Technology and Tarbiat Modares University are placed fourth and Fifth, respectively.

Shanghai University ranking 2025 has placed six Iranian universities among the top 1,000 institutions worldwide, down from 9 in 2024. Tehran University of Medical Sciences and University of Tehran are among the top 500 universities in the world, ranking 401–500 globally. Tarbiat Modares University ranks 701–800.

Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Sharif University of Technology rank 801-900. Iran University of Medical Sciences ranks 901–1000. The July edition of the Webometrics world ranking has included 64 medical universities from Iran, unchanged from January’s edition, 11 of which have advanced in the ranking compared to the January edition.

Tehran University of Medical Sciences (485) is the only university ranked among the top 500 institutions in the world, Mehr news agency reported. Among Iranian universities, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, and Yazd University of Medical Sciences have improved their rankings by 1002, 961, and 948 positions, respectively.

Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Kordestan University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, and Maraghe University of Medical Sciences are the other universities that have noticeably improved their rankings.

The Times Higher Education (THE) has included 34 universities from Iran among the top universities pursuing sustainable development goals (SDGs), up from 33 universities in 2024. Iran University of Medical Sciences, with a global ranking of 301-400, is placed first in the country.

Alzahra University, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, and Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (ranking 401-600) are placed second. Iran University of Medical Sciences ranks 48th in good health and well-being as well as reduced inequalities, and 62nd in quality education goals.

Alzahra University and Kerman University of Medical Sciences rank 85th and 89th in gender equality, respectively. Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences ranks 30th in good health and well-being.

Amirkabir University of Technology and Shahid Beheshti University rank 46th and 60th in industry, innovation, and infrastructure. The 22nd edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings (WUR), 2026, has placed nine Iranian universities among the world’s top institutes, unchanged from the 2025 ranking.

University of Tehran, with a global ranking of 322, ranks first among the Iranian universities. Sharif University of Technology (ranking 375) and Amirkabir University of Technology (456) are placed second and third.

Iran University of Science and Technology (496), Isfahan University of Technology (571), University of Tabriz (578), Shiraz University (701-710), Shahid Beheshti University (741-750), and Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (951- 1000) are other top universities included in this year’s ranking.

The Round University Ranking (RUR) 2025 has placed 36 Iranian universities among the top universities in the world, up from 32 universities in 2024. Islamic Azad University, with a global ranking of 93, is placed first in the country.

Tehran University of Medical Sciences (125), University of Tehran (202), Iran University of Science and Technology (355), Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (371), Sharif University of Technology (389), University of Tabriz (422), Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences (440), Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (445), and Shahid Beheshti University (454) ranked second to tenth.

MT/MG