University of Wrocław climbs in the QS WUR Europe ranking
The University of Wrocław has moved up by more than 30 places in the third edition of the QS World University Rankings: Europe. In the ranking published on 28 January, our University placed 281st among the best higher education institutions in Europe. In Central and Eastern Europe, we rose to 17th place. In Poland, according to QS WUR Europe 2026, we are the fifth-best higher education institution and the fourth-best university.
The ranking shows that, as in the previous year, the University of Wrocław’s strongest areas are the quality of teaching, international exchange programmes and its reputation among employers.
A total of 958 higher education institutions from 42 countries were included in the ranking. This year, the University of Oxford took first place, followed by ETH Zurich – the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – in second place, and Imperial College London in third.
Thirty-nine Polish institutions were classified in this year’s ranking, eight more than last year. Among Polish universities, we have once again placed fourth, while among all Polish higher education institutions we have moved up to fifth place.
The ranking confirms that the University of Wrocław’s strengths lie in the quality of teaching and international exchanges. Our strongest indicators are the Faculty–Student Ratio and the proportion of incoming exchange students, where we rank 151st in Europe in both categories.
Another strong indicator for the University of Wrocław is Employer Reputation, where we are ranked 202nd in Europe. This demonstrates that our University is well recognised by employers across the continent and that UWr graduates are highly regarded.
Positions of the top Polish institutions in the 2026 QS Europe University Ranking:
- University of Warsaw: 113rd place
- Jagiellonian University: 126th place
- Warsaw University of Technology: 202nd place
- Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań: 254th place
- University of Wrocław: 281st place
- Gdańsk University of Technology: 283rd place
- AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków: 328th place
- University of Gdańsk: 331st place
- Wrocław University of Science and Technology: 336th place
- University of Łódź: 360th place
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has compiled a regional ranking comparing European universities from Council of Europe member states for the third time.
In QS WUR Europe, the most important indicator, accounting for as much as 30% of the total score, is Academic Reputation. Employer Reputation is also taken into account, with a weight of 15%. Other key indicators, each weighted at 10%, are the number of citations of academic staff publications and international research collaboration (International Research Network).
The remaining indicators are:
- Faculty–Student Ratio – 5%
- Papers per Faculty (normalised number of institutional publications) – 5%
- International Faculty – 5%
- International Students – 5%
- Sustainability – 5%
- Employment Outcomes – 5%
- International Student Diversity – 5%
- Outbound Exchange Students – 2.5%
- Inbound Exchange Students – 2.5%
Further details of the ranking can be found on the Top Universities website.
Added by: E.K.
Date of publication: 26.01.2026
