TU Delft still the Netherlands' best university in QS World University Rankings

The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) again came out as the Netherlands’ top university in the QS World University Ranking 2026, ranking in 47th place globally. The University of Amsterdam is in second place, ranking 53rd globally. The two are the only Dutch universities in the top 100. Utrecht University comes next in 103 rd place.

The researchers scored each university in five categories. Research & Discovery measured institutions’ research quality and volume, as well as their reputation in the academic community. Learning Experience looked at the student-faculty ratio. Employability looked at how well the university prepares graduates for employment. Global Engagement measured the institution’s internationalization, and Sustainability measured the institution’s commitment to a more sustainable future.

TU Delft achieved an overall score of 84.3 out of 100 and scored well almost across the board. The university’s worst score was on the student-faculty ratio, where it scored 49.1. TU Delft scored particularly well in the Global Engagement category, getting full marks for International Faculty Ratio, 95.1 for its International Student Diversity, 94.8 for its International Student Ratio, and 93.8 for its International Research Network.

Like TU Delft, the University of Amsterdam’s (UvA) worst score was also its student-faculty ratio. The Amsterdam university had an even harder time managing the number of students with the available lecturers and professors, scoring only 27.5 in this category. It, too, scored highest in Global Engagement, achieving a 98.8 for its International Faculty Ratio and above-90 scores for International Student Ratio and International Research Network. It’s International Student Diversity scored only 71.3. The UvA achieved an overall score of 81.5.

In Europe, TU Delft ranked in 11th place and the UvA in 24th. The Netherlands has ten universities in Europe’s top 100. Only the United Kingdom and Germany have more.

Dutch universities on QS ranking (with global ranking and score in brackets)

1. Delft University of Technology (47th, 84.3)
2. University of Amsterdam (53rd, 81.5)
3. Utrecht University (103d, 67.7)
4. Leiden University (119th, 65.7)
5. Eindhoven University of Technology (140th, 63.2)
6. Erasmus University Rotterdam (140th, 63.2)
7. University of Groningen (147th, 62.5)
8. Wageningen University & Research (153rd, 61.6)
9. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (194th, 56.2)
10. University of Twente (203rd, 55.2)
11. Maastricht University (239th, 51.4)
12. Radboud University (279th, 47.6)
13. Tilburg University(347th, 41.6)

The top 5 universities in the world, according to QS

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (100)
2. Imperial College London (99.4)
3. Stanford University (98.9)
4. University of Oxford (97.9)
5. Harvard University (97.7)