29 January 2026

In the QS Europe University Rankings 2026 announced by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Türkiye ranked 23 universities in the top 500, rising to become the second most represented country in Europe, surpassing long-established higher education systems across the continent.

The Turkish higher education system continues its series of achievements in international rankings.

In the QS Europe University Rankings 2026, 23 universities from Türkiye entered the top 500.

With a total of 103 universities included in the rankings, Türkiye surpassed long-established higher education systems in countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, becoming the second most represented country in Europe.

Turkish universities, which demonstrated strong performance in the “2026 World University Rankings by Subject” announced by Times Higher Education (THE), have continued their upward momentum in the QS rankings as well.

Among 958 universities from 42 countries and regions included in the rankings, Middle East Technical University (METU) ranked 116th, becoming Türkiye’s highest-ranked university and the national leader in the indicators of academic reputation, employer reputation, and international research network.

Istanbul Technical University ranked 124th, Koç University 143rd, and Sabancı University 148th, all placing within the top 150, followed by Boğaziçi University, which ranked 153rd.

36 new universities from Türkiye were included in the rankings.

QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter stated that the number of Turkish universities in the top 500 increased from 21 last year to 23 this year, emphasizing that Turkish universities continue to gain momentum in the employer reputation indicator, and that a roadmap focused on international collaboration and employability supports their rise in the rankings.

Noting that the QS Europe University Rankings 2026 are compiled by taking into account many indicators such as international publication output, academic reputation, citation impact, international research network, sustainability, and the number of international faculty, Sowter stated:

“Türkiye is working on an ambitious roadmap to consolidate the quality of its higher education system by the end of the decade. The plan emphasizes international collaboration as well as employability and skills. If the country’s higher education sector achieves this goal, we expect Turkish universities to continue to rank highly in our rankings.”

Özvar: “Successful results are not a coincidence”

President of the Council of Higher Education, Erol Özvar, stated that the results demonstrate Türkiye’s continued steady upward trend in higher education.

Emphasizing that Türkiye has become one of the countries shaping the European Higher Education Area, Özvar said: “The consecutive successful results are not a coincidence. Especially in recent years, we have been reaping the fruits of the systematic efforts we have carried out together with our universities. I congratulate all our universities for representing our country at the highest level. I sincerely believe that these achievements will continue to increase.”

23 Turkish Universities in the Top 500

The Turkish universities ranked in the top 500 of the QS Europe University Rankings 2026, along with their positions, are as follows: Middle East Technical University (116), Istanbul Technical University (124), Koç University (143), Sabancı University (148), Boğaziçi University (153), Bilkent University (182), Hacettepe University (199), Istanbul University (226), Ankara University (244), Yıldız Technical University (264), Gazi University (286), Ege University (367), Gebze Technical University (375), Marmara University (391), Istanbul Gelişim University (441), Izmir Institute of Technology (444), Dokuz Eylül University (453), Abdullah Gül University (467), Özyeğin University (467), Erciyes University (471), Anadolu University (476), Bahçeşehir University (480), Selçuk University (495).