Switzerland remains a stronghold of top universities. Three Swiss universities, ETH Zurich, EPFL and the University of Zurich, are among the 100 best in the world in the latest QS university ranking.
June 18, 2026, 01:01June 18, 2026, 01:24
ETH Zurich is in eighth place worldwide in the ranking of the university consultant Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), as QS announced on Thursday. This means that it has fallen one place compared to last year.
ETH Zurich is widely regarded as the best university in Switzerland.Image: KEYSTONE
As last year, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) ranks in 22nd place. The University of Zurich has moved up from 100th place to 98th place.
The loss of a single rank at ETH Zurich does not allow any conclusion to be drawn about a fundamental loss of quality or reputation, QS said in response to a request from the Keystone-SDA news agency. At the top of the world, even very small changes in relative performance compared to other top universities can lead to shifts in the ranking. “Overall, we do not see the shift from 7th to 8th place as an indication of a downward trend,” said the university consultant.
Mixed balance
Overall, Swiss universities showed mixed development. Of the ten institutions already assessed in previous years, three improved, six fell behind and one remained stable.
The biggest improvement was recorded by the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), which climbed 17 places to 456th place. According to QS, the reason for this was better performance in terms of citations in research. The University of Basel returned to the top 150 thanks to progress in academic reputation and employment outcomes.
In addition to ETH Zurich, the universities of Geneva, Bern, Lausanne and Freiburg as well as the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) also lost some ranks.
For the fifteenth year in a row, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retains the top spot. Imperial College London remains in second place for the third year in a row, now sharing the position with Stanford University, which has moved up from third place. (sda)