Top Swiss university loses spot to Chinese institution in Times Higher Education ranking
ETH Zurich has dropped one place in a recent ranking of the world’s best universities. It was overtaken by Asia’s top university, Tsinghua University in China, that moved up to take its place in 11th position.
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Top Swiss university loses spot to Chinese institution in Times Higher Education ranking
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich nevertheless remains the best university in continental Europe, according to a statement issued by Times Higher Education on Wednesday. The Zurich-based university is ranked 12th for the year 2027.
Alongside ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) is also among the top 100, according to the ranking. EPFL, too, dropped one place and now ranks 36th, as the specialist magazine’s analysis showed.
Oxford remains unchallenged
As in the previous year, the top 10 of the world’s best universities consists solely of British and US institutions. Once again, the specialist magazine named the University of Oxford in the UK as the world’s best university. The second and third places also remain unchanged, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US and Princeton University, also in the US, holding their positions.
Despite the top positions being held by Western universities, the specialist magazine believes that Asian universities are continuing to catch up. According to the report, five European universities dropped out of the top 200 for the 2027 ranking, whilst a further five Asian universities moved into the top 200 institutions.
Basel, Bern, Lausanne and Geneva in the top 200
Times Higher Education lists a total of six Swiss universities amongst the top 200. The University of Basel climbed nine places and is now ranked 111th. The University of Bern slipped 13 places to 121st. The University of Lausanne dropped four places and is now ranked 129th. The University of Geneva moved up three places to 163rd.
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How important are university rankings?
The analysis by Times Higher Education is based on a total of 17 indicators. These are divided into five categories: teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry. In total, the specialist magazine lists around 2,000 higher education institutions in its international ranking.
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