The University of Vienna has retained rank 95 in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings, making it the only Austrian university in the top 100. To safeguard this international standing in the long term – and thereby fulfil the mandate set out in the federal government’s higher education strategy – Rector Sebastian Schütze is calling for reliable university funding.
“This renewed success is the result of a long-standing strategic focus and sends a strong signal to the entire scientific and business community in Austria. However, what has been built up over a long period and with great success can quickly become unattainable again as a result of budget cuts,” says Rector Sebastian Schütze.
Steady improvement since 2018 – up 70 positions in 7 years
The University of Vienna continues its success story in the THE Rankings. Since 2018, the University has managed to improve its position year after year, despite increasing competition. Ranked in 165th position among 1,103 universities assessed in 2018, it made it into the top 100 for the first time in the 2026 ranking, coming in at 95th position. The University has thus been able to improve by 70 places in only seven years.
In the current 2027 ranking, the University of Vienna remains in 95th position, thus ranking among the top 4 per cent of now 2,297 universities worldwide. Since last year, a further 105 universities have been included in the ranking, meaning the University of Vienna has managed to maintain its position despite growing competition.
Criteria of the THE Rankings
The THE World University Rankings currently evaluate universities across five core dimensions: teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry collaboration. Indicators include, for example, staff and student numbers, reputation surveys, publication and citation data, third-party funding received and the proportion of international students, staff and publications.
University of Vienna performs particularly well with regard to international outlook
As in the previous year, the University of Vienna achieves particularly good results in the THE Rankings in terms of international outlook (e.g. proportion of international researchers, students and publications) and research quality (e.g. number of highly cited journals). Ultimately, however, it is the overall result across all indicators that counts, and in recent years the University of Vienna has also significantly improved its performance in teaching – for example, through an increase in the number of doctoral degrees awarded and an improved student-tutor ratio – as well as in industry collaboration, due to a significant increase in income from applied research.
About the University of Vienna:
For over 650 years the University of Vienna has stood for education, research and innovation. Today, it is ranked among the top 100 and thus the top four per cent of all universities worldwide and is globally connected. With degree programmes covering 188 disciplines, and approximately 11,000 employees, we are one of the largest academic institutions in Europe. Here, people from a broad spectrum of disciplines come together to carry out research at the highest level and develop solutions for current and future challenges. Its students and graduates develop reflected and sustainable solutions to complex challenges using innovative spirit and curiosity.
