.jpg)
The Universitat de València is ranked again as the best university of the Valencian Community and among the world’s 400 best universities, according to the new edition of the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also known as the Shanghai Ranking. The results, published on Saturday, rank the UV between the 301-400 places of the world, and in the fourth position of Spain, along with the Autonomous University of Madrid, and the universities of Granada and the Basque Country.
The Shanghai Ranking is one of the world’s most prestigious and widespread university rankings. The positioning system is divided by groups and within each one, the institutions are ordered alphabetically. The place held by the Universitat de València certifies the excellence of the academic, research, and knowledge transfer activity of the institution.
The list of the 10 first Spanish universities is leaded by the Universitat de Barcelona, which holds its place in the 151-200 group, followed by the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Complutense University of Madrid, in the 201-300 group. The Universitat de València, the Autonomous of Madrid, and the universities of Granada and the Basque Country complete this list in the 301-400 group. Additionally, the Politècnica de València, the Pompeu Fabra, and the universities of Navarra, Seville, and Zaragoza are ranked in the 401-500 group.
The ranking analyses six indicators: number of Nobel Prize or Fields Medal-winning students (10 %), Nobel or Fields-winning professors (20 %); highly cited researchers (20 %); articles in Nature and Science (20 %), articles indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded and the Social Science Citation (20 %), and academic performance per capita (10 %). This year the Universitat de València moved up compared with the former ranking in the N&S indicator: articles published in the Nature and Science journals in the last five years and highly cited researchers.
The first of the Valencian universities shows a historical rise —taking always into consideration Shanghai’s typical fluctuation— that has reaffirmed its status in the last few years, not only in an autonomous level, but also in a national and global level: in 2023, the UV adjusted its position improving within the 301-400 group, whereas in 2024 achieved to be placed in the 201-300 group and to be ranked as the second best university of Spain, a position that was consolidated in 2025.
For this 2026 edition, over 2.500 higher education institutions were examined and the 1.000 with a better result were announced. The global ranking is leaded by the Harvard University, consecutively on the top for 24 years, followed by Stanford, and the Massachusetts Technological Institute (MIT). Cambridge, Berkeley, Princeton, Oxford, Columbia, the University of Chicago, and Caltech complete the 10 best universities.
