Austrian Universities Lose Significantly in QS Ranking

Almost all Austrian universities represented in the "QS University Ranking 2026" have lost ground compared to the previous year. The best-ranked Austrian university is the University of Vienna at position 152 (previous year: 137), the Vienna University of Technology (TU) also made it just under the top 200 at position 197 (previous year: 190). At the top of the list, as in the previous year, is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge (USA).

Worse University Ranking: Innsbruck, Graz, and Klagenfurt Particularly Affected

The third-best ranked university in Austria is the University of Innsbruck at rank 350 (previous year: 309), followed by the TU Graz at position 427 (413), the University of Linz at rank 473 (472), and the University of Salzburg at position 650 (601-610). The only Austrian university to achieve an improvement in rank was the University of Graz at position 668 (671-680). The last ranked Austrian university is the University of Klagenfurt at position 697 (611-620).

Worse Ratings from Employers

In the QS Quacquarelli Symonds ranking, 30 percent of the ranking depends on the results of a worldwide survey in the academic community regarding the reputation of universities, another 15 percent from an additional survey among employers. 10 percent of the score is derived from the student-to-faculty ratio, 20 percent from research performance measured by citations, and five percent each from the proportion of international students and international staff. Additionally, five percent each are derived from the factors of sustainability, employment outcomes, and international research collaboration.

The decline of Austrian universities is mainly due to poorer scores in the employer survey. Six out of the eight universities also performed worse in employment outcomes and citations compared to the previous year.

Global Leaders Remain Unchanged

In the top ten of the ranking, as in other international university rankings, almost exclusively universities from the USA and the United Kingdom are found. Rank 1 again goes to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; USA), followed by Imperial College London (United Kingdom) and Stanford University (USA). The best continental European university is the University of Zurich at position seven.

(APA/Red)

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