QS World University Rankings 2026: MIT tops global list, IIT Delhi overtakes IIT Bombay as India's best institution

QS World University Rankings 2026

The QS World University Rankings 2026 have been released, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) securing the top global position for the 14th consecutive year. Meanwhile, in a historic shift, IIT Delhi surpassed IIT Bombay to become India's highest-ranked institution, marking the first time in eight years that it has claimed the top spot among Indian universities.

IIT Delhi made remarkable progress, climbing 27 places to secure the 123rd rank globally, up from 150th last year. On the other hand, IIT Bombay slipped 11 spots to 129th, losing its long-held dominance as India's premier institution.

While no Indian university has yet broken into the global top 100, IIT Bombay’s 118th rank in 2025 remains the closest an Indian institution has come to achieving this milestone.

The top five universities in the QS World University Rankings 2026 are:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
• Imperial College London, UK
• Stanford University, USA
• University of Oxford, UK
• Harvard University, USA

India ranks fourth globally in terms of the number of ranked institutions (54), trailing behind the USA (192), the UK (90), and China (72).

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) continue to dominate the country’s higher education landscape. Alongside IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay, IIT Madras made headlines by entering the top 200 for the first time, jumping 47 places to rank 180th.

Over the past ten years, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, and IISc Bangalore have consistently competed for the top three positions in India. The last time IIT Delhi led the rankings was in 2018 (172nd), while IISc Bangalore was India’s best in 2016, 2017, and 2023.