Top Ranked Universities in Europe

Europe is the  second-smallest continent, it is heavily stuffed with many of the world’s best educational institutions. In the QS World University Rankings® 2018, a total of 369 European universities is recommended among the world’s best.

The UK blusters Europe’s highest number of internationally ranked universities with 84 entries, lined up by Germany (46) and France (31). However, it’s Switzerland that joins the UK in having a university ranked among the world’s top 10.

To help you in the wide selection of top universities in Europe, we’ve compiled a list of the top universities in Europe categorized by country.

Top universities in Austria

Austria, a landlocked country in central Europe, shares borders with eight other European nations, including Germany, to the north and Italy to the south. It has 7 top European universities currently added in the QS World University Rankings. Amongst  these, the top universities in Austria are:

1. University of Vienna (154^th in the world, 63^rd in Europe)

2. Vienna University of Technology (joint 182^nd in the world, joint 80^th in Europe)

3. Universität Innsbruck (286^th in the world, 126^th in Europe)

4. Johannes Kepler University Linz (471-480 in the world, jointly 207^th in Europe)

5. Karl-Franzens–Universität Graz (471-480 in the world, jointly 207^th in Europe)

 

Top universities in Belgium

Belgium , the land of fine chocolate and beer, is also a home to some excellent educational establishments. It  claims eight of the top universities in Europe to be internationally ranked, out of eight, two are  placed within the top 300 worldwide. The top universities in Belgium are:

1. K U Leuven (joint 71^st in the world, 21^st in Europe)

2.Ghent University (joint 125^th in the world, joint 47^th in Europe)

3. Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) (153^rd in the world, 62^nd in Europe)

4. Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) (joint 182^nd in the world, joint 80^th in Europe)

5. Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) (joint 205th in the world, 93^rd in Europe)

 

Top universities in France 

France boasts a very broad selection of top European universities, and an impressive presence in the international rankings, with the major part of its top 10 universities situated in the capital city of Paris. The top universities in France are:

1. Ecolé Normale Supérieure, Paris (43^rd in the world, 11^th in Europe)

2. Ecolé Polytechnique (59^th in the world, 16^th in Europe)

3. Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) (131^st in the world, 50^th in Europe)

4. Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (157^th in the world, 65^th in Europe)

5. CentraleSupélec (177^th in the world, 77^th in Europe)

 

Top universities in Germany

Germany is one of the world’s most popular non-Anglophone destinations for international students, which is offering free tuition to undergraduate students. The top universities in Germany are:

1. Technische Universität München (64^th in the world, 17^th in Europe)

2. Ludwig-Maximilians–Universität München (66^th in the world, 19^th in Europe)

3. Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (68^th in the world, 20^th in Europe)

4. Kit, Karlsruher Institut Für Technologie (107^th in the world, 38^th in Europe)

5. Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin (120^th in the world, 45th in Europe)

 

Top universities in Ireland

Ireland,  a small country in western Europe, is home to eight world-ranking universities, of which half is in the capital city, Dublin. The top universities in Ireland are:

1. Trinity College Dublin (88^th in the world, 29^th in Europe)

2. University College Dublin (168^th in the world, 73^rd in Europe)

3. National University of Ireland, Galway (joint 243^rd in the world, 107^th in Europe)

4. University College Cork (joint 283^rd in the world, jointly 124^th in Europe)

5. Dublin City University (joint 391^st in the world, 177^th in Europe)

 

Top universities in Italy

Italy, located in the southern peninsula of the continent, is the sixth most populous country in Europe, it is very well known for its weather, cuisine and beautiful settings.  It boasts 30 internationally ranked universities. The top universities in Italy are:

1. Politecnico di Milano (170^th in the world, 74^th in Europe)

2. University of Bologna (joint 188^th in the world, joint 83^rd in Europe)

3. Scuola Normale Superiore DI Pisa (new this year, ranked joint 192^nd in the world and joint 85^th in Europe)

4. Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa (new this year, ranked joint 192^nd in the world and joint 85^th in Europe)

5. Sapienza University of Rome (215^th in the world, 95^th in Europe)

 

Top universities in the Netherlands

This Dutch-speaking country towards the north of the continent blusters 13 globally ranked universities. The top universities in the Netherlands are:

1. Delft University of Technology (54^th in the world, 13^th in Europe)

2. University of Amsterdam (58^th in the world, 15^th in Europe)

3. Eindhoven University of Technology (104^th in the world, 37^th in Europe)

4. Leiden University (joint 109^th in the world, joint 39^th in Europe)

5. Utrecht University (joint 109^th in the world, joint 39^th in Europe)

 

Top universities in the Nordic countries

Europe’s Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) offer 27 internationally ranked universities. Finland in the Nordic region demands the highest number of rank institutions, inspite of being the most densely populated countries in Europe, while Denmark offers the highest-ranked university in the group. The top universities in the Nordic countries are:

Denmark 

1. University of Copenhagen (joint 73^rd in the world, joint 22^nd in Europe)

2. Technical University of Denmark (joint 116^th in the world, 43^rd in Europe)

 

Finland

1. University of Helsinki (joint 102^nd in the world, joint 35^th in Europe)

2. Aalto University (joint 137^th in the world, joint 54^th in Europe)

 

Norway

1. University of Oslo (joint 142^nd in the world, 57^th in Europe)

2. University of Bergen (joint 164^th in the world, joint 70^th in Europe)

 

Sweden

1. Lund University (joint 78^th in the world, joint 24^th in Europe)

2. KTH Royal Institute of Technology (joint 98^th in the world, joint 32^nd in Europe)

 

Top universities in Russia 

Russia,  the largest country in the world,  performed very well in the latest QS World University Rankings, with 24 universities and only 3 dropping down the ranking since the previous year. The top universities in Russia are:

1. Lomonosov Moscow State University (joint 95^th in the world, 31^st in Europe)

2. Saint-Petersburg State University (joint 240^th in the world, 105^th in Europe)

3. Novosibirsk State University (joint 250^th in the world, 108^th in Europe)

4. Bauman Moscow State Technical University (291^st in the world, 129^th in Europe)

5. Tomsk State University (joint 323^rd in the world, 145^th in Europe)

 

Top universities in Spain 

Renowned for its buzzing cities and attractive Mediterranean coast, Spain is popular among tourists and students alike, and claims 23 amongst the top European universities with respect to the QS World University Rankings. The top universities in Spain are:

1. University of Barcelona (156^th in the world, 64^th in Europe)

2. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (187^th in the world, 82^nd in Europe)

3. Universitat Autonóma de Barcelona (joint 195^th in the world, joint 88^th in Europe)

4. University Complutense, Madrid (UCM) (233^rd in the world, 100^th in Europe)

5. University of Navarra (joint 270^th in the world, jointly 115^th in Europe)

 

Top universities in Switzerland

Switzerland, a home to a large portion of the Alps mountain range, is the only country other than US or UK to claim a university in the world’s top 10. All but one of its 9 internationally ranked universities are in the global top 400. The top universities in Switzerland are:

1. ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) (10^th in the world, fifth in Europe)

2. Ecolé Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) (12^th in the world, sixth in Europe)

3. University of Zurich (UZH) (joint 73^rd in the world, joint 22^nd in Europe)

4. University of Geneva (joint 98^th in the world, joint 32^nd in Europe)

5. University of Lausanne (146^th in the world, 59^th in Europe)

 

Top universities in the UK

The UK is the most popular destination to study in Europe, and second only to the US in the number of total universities included in the ranking. It present blusters 4 of the world’s top 10 universities, and 8 of the 10 top universities in Europe. The top universities in the UK are:

1. University of Cambridge (fifth in the world, first in Europe)

2. University of Oxford (sixth in the world, second in Europe)

3. UCL (University College London) (seventh in the world, third in Europe)

4. Imperial College London (eighth in the world, fourth in Europe)    

5. King’s College London (joint 23^rd in the world, joint seventh in Europe)

6. University of Edinburgh (joint 23^rd in the world, joint seventh in Europe)

 

Top universities in Greece

1. National Technical University of Athens (401-410 in the world, jointly 180^th in Europe)

2. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (501-550 in the world, jointly 217^th in Europe)

 

Best of the rest…

The list above talks about the best-known places to study in Europe as an international student. Many other European countries are home to one or more institutions  added in the QS World University Rankings. Here’s a quick round-up of the rest:

Belarus 

1. Belarus State University (joint 334^th in the world, 149^th in Europe)

2. Belarusian National Technical University (751-800 in the world, joint 305^th in Europe)

Bulgaria

1. Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski (701-750 in the world, jointly 286^th in Europe)

Croatia

1. University of Zagreb (651-700 in the world, joint 263^rd in Europe)

Czech Republic 

1. Charles University (joint 314^th in the world, joint 142^nd in Europe)

2. Czech Technical University in Prague (491-500 in the world, jointly 214^th in Europe)

 

Estonia

1. University of Tartu (joint 314^th in the world, joint 142^nd in Europe)

2. Tallinn University of Technology (601-650 in the world, jointly 255^th in Europe)

Hungary

1. University of Szeged (501-550 in the world, jointly 217^th in Europe)

2. Eötvös Loránd University (651-700 in the world, jointly 272^nd in Europe)

 

Latvia

1. Riga Technical University (new this year, ranked 651-700 in the world and joint 272^nd in Europe)

2. University of Latvia (701-750 in the world, jointly 286^th in Europe)

Lithuania 

1. Vilnius University (401-410 in the world, jointly 180^th in Europe)

2. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (551-600 in the world, jointly 237^th in Europe)

 

Poland 

1. University of Warsaw (411-420 in the world, jointly 187^th in Europe)

2. Jagiellonian University (461-470 in the world, jointly 201^st in Europe)

 

Portugal

1. University of Lisbon (joint 338th  in the world, 134^th in Europe)

2. University of Porto (joint 353rd in the world, jointly 146^th in Europe)

 

Romania 

1. University of Bucharest (801-1000 in the world, joint 386^th in Europe)

2. Alexandru loan Cuza University (801-1000 in the world, joint 385^th in Europe)

 

Serbia

1. University of Belgrade (801-1000 in the world, joint 352^nd in Europe)

Slovakia

1. Comenius University in Bratislava (751-800 in the world, joint 330^th in Europe)

2. Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (751-800 in the world, joint 331st in Europe)

Slovenia

1. University of Ljubljana (591-600 in the world, joint 258^th in Europe)

2. University of Maribor (751-800 in the world, joint 322^nd in Europe)

Ukraine 

1. V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University  (491^th  in the world, joint 218^th in Europe)

2. Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (541-550 in the world, joint  246^th in Europe)