The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027 have been released, placing the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, as the highest-ranked Indian institution at 254th globally. The latest edition evaluates 2,297 universities across 118 countries and territories, making it the most extensive edition of the rankings so far.

India has strengthened its presence in the global higher education landscape, with 143 Indian universities featured in the 2027 rankings, 15 more than the previous edition. This makes India the most represented country in Asia for the second consecutive year.

IISc Leads Indian Institutions

IISc recorded an overall score of 57.0 and performed particularly strongly in the research environment indicator, where it scored 98.0. It also recorded scores of 62.1 in teaching and 58.6 in research quality.

Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences followed IISc in the Indian rankings, appearing in the 326–350 band. Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences was placed in the 451–500 band, while Jamia Millia Islamia and KIIT University featured in the 501–550 band.

The rankings also feature several other Indian institutions across broader ranking bands, including IIT Indore, IIT Patna, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Mandi, IISER Pune and IIT Ropar.

The 2027 edition assesses universities through five broad areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook. THE has also introduced more granular ranking bands in this edition to provide additional detail on institutional performance.

Asian Universities Gain Ground

The latest rankings also highlight the growing presence of Asian universities. China's Tsinghua University moved to 11th globally, becoming the highest-ranked Asian university, while Peking University ranked 13th and the National University of Singapore 15th. This marks the first time three Asian universities have entered the global top 15.

The University of Oxford retained the global top position for the 11th consecutive year, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Princeton and Stanford shared third place, while the University of Cambridge ranked fifth.

“The iron law of higher education, especially in research, is that stellar performance is only sustainable with funding and especially public funding,” said Simon Marginson, Professor of Higher Education, University of Bristol.

The 2027 rankings provide universities, students, policymakers and higher education leaders with a global view of institutional performance across teaching, research, industry engagement and internationalisation. For India, the increased number of institutions represented in the rankings highlights the expanding visibility of its higher education sector on the global stage.