University of Graz makes the top 500 in the Shanghai Ranking

The University of Graz has improved its position in a key ranking. Photo: University of Graz/Raggautz

The University of Graz has moved into the top 500 in the Shanghai Ranking published on 15 August 2026, placing it amongst the top two per cent of around 25,000 higher education institutions worldwide. In light of this improvement, Rector Peter Riedler emphasises that such successes require long-term financial security in order to maintain standards.

The Shanghai Ranking, compiled by the consultancy firm ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, is one of the most important university rankings, with a strong focus on the natural sciences, and plays a key role in joint research projects, particularly in Asia. Making it into the top 500 in this ranking is a major achievement, particularly for a broad-based university.

As in previous years, the ranking is led by the US universities Harvard, Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The highest-ranked European university is the University of Cambridge in the UK, in fourth place. Generally speaking, Anglo-Saxon universities dominate the top ranks. The French University of Paris-Saclay, in 13th place, is the first from a non-English-speaking country. Of the seven Austrian universities that have made it into the top 1,000, the University of Graz is in fifth place, ahead of the medical universities of Innsbruck and Graz and behind the Vienna University of Technology, the Medical University of Vienna, the University of Innsbruck and the University of Vienna.

This improvement in the rankings pays off twice over for the University of Graz. It boosts its international visibility and thus makes it more attractive for international academic collaborations. Students looking for a suitable Master’s programme also use international rankings as a guide. For the University of Graz, the focus is currently primarily on the Leiden Ranking, which will be published in September.

“Success in international rankings is only possible if we, as a university, have long-term financial security. We must be able to offer an attractive package for top researchers, and that includes budgetary resources,” says Peter Riedler, Rector of the University of Graz. It is not only the university itself that benefits from cutting-edge research; it is also an economic driver for the entire region. “If we want to further improve this position, we need additional resources. However, the federal government is currently planning the opposite,” says Riedler.

Translated with DeepL.

Roman Vilgut

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