Oxford University has once again topped the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, with a record 2,191 universities having been ranked from 115 countries. Oxford has been world number one since 2017 – the longest time any university has held the position in the 21 annual editions of the rankings. Professor Irene Tracey, CBE, FRS, FMedSci, Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford, said: ‘We are honoured that Oxford has been ranked number one globally by Times Higher Education for the tenth year in a row. Oxford was followed in the THE World Rankings 2025 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with Cambridge and Princeton tied for third in the rankings. View the full THE World Education Rankings 2026 here.