TEHRAN – The 2026 Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition has included 45 Iranian universities among the top 1,618 universities worldwide.
In 2025, 48 Iranian universities were included, placing the country first among Islamic nations in terms of the number of universities for the second consecutive year.
The University of Tehran (with a global ranking of 182), Tehran University of Medical Sciences (230), and Iran University of Science and Technology (388) are ranked first to third in the country.
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (390), Tarbiat Modares University, Amirkabir University of Technology, University of Tabriz, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, and Tabriz University of Medical Sciences are placed fourth to tenth, respectively.
The number of universities included in the Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition 2026 has increased from 1594 to 1618. Nepal is represented in the Traditional Edition for the first time, bringing the total number of countries and territories covered in the Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition to 78. This is the final release of the Traditional Edition. From 2027 onward, the Traditional Edition will be discontinued.
Based on open data from OpenAlex, the CWTS Leiden Ranking Open Edition offers fully transparent information about the scientific performance of over 3000 universities worldwide.
Leiden Ranking Open Edition has included 80 Iranian universities. Tehran University of Medical Sciences is placed first in the country (ranking 154 globally), followed by University of Tehran (172), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (316), Iran University of Science and Technology (431), Tarbiat Modares University (440) are the top five universities in the country.
Iran University of Science and Technology, Tarbiat Modares University, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Amirkabir University of Technology, and Mashhad University of Medical Sciences ranked sixth to tenth, respectively.
In Biomedical and health sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences ranks 44, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences ranks 96, and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences ranks 153 globally.
University of Tehran ranks 55 in Life and earth sciences, 95 in Physical sciences and engineering, 152 in Mathematics and computer sciences, and 285 in Social sciences and humanities.
The number of universities included in the Leiden Ranking Open Edition has increased from 2831 to 3049. Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan, and Libya are represented in the Leiden Ranking Open Edition for the first time, bringing the total number of countries and territories covered in the Leiden Ranking Open Edition to 122.
The Leiden Ranking provides indicators of scientific impact, collaboration, and open access publishing. Size matters when comparing universities: performance can be viewed from an absolute or a relative perspective (e.g., the number versus the percentage of highly cited publications). That is why size-dependent and size-independent indicators are consistently presented together in the Leiden Ranking.
This highlights that both types of indicators need to be taken into account.
Compared with other university rankings, the Leiden Ranking offers more advanced bibliometric indicators. The underlying methodology is richly documented. It provides information exclusively about the research done at universities. Research is represented in publications, and carefully collected data about these publications forms the basis for the Leiden Ranking. This basis also ensures the independence of the Leiden Ranking, since there is no reliance on data submitted by the universities themselves.
Recent rankings
The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Ranking has included 50 Iranian universities in the list of top universities in 2027, up from 48 universities in 2026.
University of Tehran, with a global ranking of 114, ranks first among Iranian universities, Mehr news agency reported.
Sharif University of Technology (ranking 130 globally) and Amirkabir University of Technology (ranking 191 globally), Iran University of Science and Technology (192), Shahid Beheshti University (232), Isfahan University of Technology (244), University of Tabriz (254), Shiraz University (303), K.N. Toosi University of Technology (343), Babol Noshirvani University of Technology (355), and Shiraz University of Technology (359) are ranked second to tenth.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 placed 75 Iranian universities among the top institutions.
The 2027 rankings include 2,297 institutions from 118 countries and territories. There are 106 new entries compared with last year.
Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran University of Science and Technology, and Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences are the top universities in the country with a global ranking of 401-450.
Sharif University of Technology and University of Tehran are placed second, ranking 401-500 globally.
Tehran University of Medical Sciences (501-550), Shiraz University of Technology (551-600), and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (651-700) are placed third to fifth.
Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) has evaluated Iranian institutions across 33 out of 57 academic subjects in the fields of Natural Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, and Social Sciences.
Iranian universities had better performance in Engineering and Medical Sciences with 70 and 24 subjects, respectively.
The Round University Ranking (RUR) 2026 has placed 41 Iranian universities among the world’s top universities, up from 36 in 2025.
This year’s ranking includes 1,313 universities from 99 countries, providing one of the most comprehensive views of institutional performance across the global higher education landscape.
The Islamic Azad University, ranked 90 globally (up from 93 in 2025), ranks first in the country.
Tehran University of Medical Sciences ranks (119), University of Tehran (180), Iran University of Science and Technology (235), Sharif University of Technology (271), Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (323), University of Tabriz (375), Isfahan University of Technology (441), Shahid Beheshti University (457), and K.N. Toosi University of Technology (505), rank second to tenth.
Based on the Teaching Ranking dimension, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, and University of Tehran are placed first to third, with global rankings of 22, 48, and 109, respectively.
In the Research Ranking dimension, Iran University of Science and Technology (146), Sharif University of Technology (151), and Islamic Azad University (189) are the top three universities in the country.
In the International Diversity Ranking dimension, Islamic Azad University, with a global ranking of 313, is placed first, followed by University of Religions and Denomination (579), and Imam Hossein University (608).
In the Financial Sustainability Ranking dimension, Imam Hossein University (161), Iran University of Science and Technology (237), and Baqir al-Olum University rank first to third.
Shanghai University ranking 2026 has placed six Iranian universities among the top 1,000 institutions worldwide, unchanged compared to the past year. In total, more than 2500 universities are ranked, and the best 1000 are published.
Tehran University of Medical Sciences and the University of Tehran, with a global ranking of 501-600, are jointly placed first in the country, IRNA reported.
Amirkabir University of Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Sharif University of Technology, and Tarbiat Modares University rank third to sixth, respectively.
MT/MG
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: tehrantimes.com
