October 9, 2025

The Times Higher Education (THE) 2026 World University Rankings results, announced by the UK-based international higher education rating organization, have been revealed. Four Turkish universities succeeded in entering the Top 500, and 15 made it into the Top 1000.

A total of 109 universities from Türkiye successfully entered the ranking. Last year, this ranking featured 91 Turkish universities. Additionally, 28 Turkish universities were included in the list with "Reporter" status.

In the ranking, which evaluated 2,191 higher education institutions from 115 countries, Koç University secured a spot in the 301-350 band, Middle East Technical University and Sabancı University in the 351-400 band, and Boğaziçi University in the 401-500 band, thus entering the top 500.

Istanbul Technical University placed in the 501-600 band; Bilkent University, Kadir Has University, and Yıldız Technical University were in the 601-800 band; and Abdullah Gül University, Atatürk University, Bahçeşehir University, Çankaya University, Hacettepe University, İstanbul Medipol University, and Özyeğin University were positioned in the 801-1000 band. With this, 15 universities from Türkiye achieved a remarkable success by entering the top thousand in the THE rankings.

Additionally, 25 Turkish universities were positioned in the 1001-1500 segment of the ranking. Abdullah Gül University, which was not listed in last year’s report, entered the list from the top 1000 this year. 18 universities were included in the ranking for the first time.

Anadolu University, Bartın University, Fırat University, Gelişim University, İstinye University, İzmir Institute of Technology, and Selçuk University placed in the 1001-1200 band, while Akdeniz University, Ankara University, Biruni University, Düzce University, Ege University, Erciyes University, Gazi University, Gebze Technical University, İnönü University, İstanbul Medeniyet University, İstanbul University, İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa, Necmettin Erbakan University, Sakarya University, Süleyman Demirel University, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, University of Health Sciences, and Yaşar University were positioned in the 1201-1500 band.

Özvar: “The Rise of Our Universities in International Rankings is Satisfying”

Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education (CoHE), stated that he appreciates the achievements of Turkish universities in international rankings. He added that the progress shown by universities in Türkiye in recent years has begun to be reflected in the world rankings:

"The increasing success of our universities, especially in recent years, has begun to be reflected in international rankings. It is a pleasing development that a record number of our universities have found a place in the ranking and are rising towards the top. We want Turkish universities to be included among the world's top 100 universities. We are fully confident that as long as our universities focus on these goals, they will increase their quality and achieve success."