The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is India’s highest ranked university in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027, placed 254th in the world. India has more ranked universities than ever, yet its leading institution still sits outside the global top 250.
India’s numbers rise
The latest edition ranks 2,297 universities across 118 countries and territories, which THE describes as its most extensive list to date. India is the most represented country in Asia for the second consecutive year, with 143 universities ranked, 15 more than last year. Turkey follows with 124 institutions, also 15 more than before.Representation, however, is a measure of breadth. Rank measures standing, and the two tell different stories for India this year.
A closer look at IISc’s score
IISc recorded an overall score of 57.0. Its strongest indicator is research environment, at 98.0. Teaching came in at 62.1 and research quality at 58.6. The gap between the first score and the other two is close to 36 to 39 points, which suggests the institute’s infrastructure, funding and research reputation are ahead of its measured teaching outcomes and research influence. THE assesses research-intensive universities across teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry.
The rest of the Indian list
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences follows IISc, placed between 326 and 350, with an overall score between 52.3 and 53.3. Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences is in the 451 to 500 band. Jamia Millia Islamia and KIIT University share the 501 to 550 band.So the five Indian institutions highlighted in the table span a range from 254 to 550, and none of the four behind IISc is placed inside the top 300.
Asia overtakes Europe
The larger shift in the 2027 table is regional. According to THE, Asia has overtaken continental Europe for the first time. More than 1,000 Asian institutions are ranked, up from 929 last year to 1,003 this year. Asia now has 40 universities in the global top 200, five more than last year, and Malaysia has entered the top 200 for the first time.China’s Tsinghua University has risen to 11th, ahead of Switzerland’s ETH Zurich, and is now Asia’s top ranked institution. Peking University is 13th. The National University of Singapore (NUS) has entered the global top 15, giving Asia three universities in that group for the first time.Other national leaders include the University of Tokyo at 27th in Japan, the University of Hong Kong at 33rd for Hong Kong, and Seoul National University at 56th in South Korea.
The top of the table holds
At the very top, the order is largely unchanged. The University of Oxford has kept the number one position for the 11th consecutive year, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at second. Princeton University and Stanford University share third place, and the University of Cambridge is fifth.Asia’s rise at the top has come through a few institutions moving into the top 15 and the top 200. India’s gain this year is in the count of ranked universities, not in the position of its leading one. For a country that now has the largest Asian presence in the table, the next test is whether more of its 143 institutions can move from inclusion to the upper bands.