Dutch universities slip further down Times Higher Education ranking

With eleven universities, the Netherlands is still well represented in the top 200 of the World University Rankings 2026. However, eight of them have once again seen their positions on the ranking drop. As in the past two years, TU Delft ranks highest among Dutch universities, but the institution has dropped from 56 to 57.

Last year, eight of the twelve participating Dutch universities had to give up ground. The year before that, it happened to seven of them. This year, eight universities saw their rankings drop again. Only the universities of Wageningen, Leiden and Maastricht have risen slightly. Erasmus University has maintained its position.

Utrecht University has not participated in the world rankings for two years. UU is critical of such lists and therefore no longer provides data to them. The university explained in 2023 that these rankings ‘place too much emphasis on scoring and competition, while we want to focus on collaboration and open science’.

© HOP. Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026. = stands for shared.

According to Times Higher Education, the quality of research at Dutch universities is declining because publications are generally cited less often. In 2023, the institutions' revenues will also have fallen. The editors expect this negative trend to continue in the coming years as the effects of budget cuts affecting higher education become increasingly apparent.

The top of the rankings is still dominated by universities from the United Kingdom and the United States. For the tenth year in a row, the University of Oxford is number one, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. Princeton and Cambridge are tied for third place this year.

However, ‘despite a strong position at the top of the rankings, the US as a whole continues to lose ground, and there are also warning signs for the UK,’ reports Times Higher Education. ‘Asia, on the other hand, is climbing rapidly.’