The impressive result of the University of Sydney in the latest Times Higher Education  rankings sees it ranked 53rd in the world, up eight places from last year. 

In this year’s Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 there are 2,191 universities ranked across more than 115 countries and regions. The international rankings assess research-intensive universities across 18 performance indicators grouped into five pillars: teaching, research quality, research environment, international outlook and industry. 

The University ranked 56th for research environment (up three places) in the prestigious rankings while teaching ranked 81st in the world, increasing 25 places in the University’s strongest area of improvement. 

The University ranked second in Australia and first in NSW.  

“I commend all our staff on our outstanding performance in these competitive global rankings, now in their 22nd year. This welcome recognition of our teaching excellence reflects our ongoing commitment to providing a transformative experience for our students, bolstered by our unprecedented investment in 220 new specialist education-focused roles through our Sydney Horizon Educators initiative,” said Professor Mark Scott, Vice-Chancellor and President.   

Professor Julie Cairney Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) said, “It is gratifying to see our improvement in these rankings and our high placement for research environment. The standard of our research ecosystem is closely tied to the assessment of our research reputation. All these things benefit the learning experience of our students, who are supported by our world-class, research-active scholars.”

The most recent teaching and research successes from the University include:

• our sector-leading approach to AI in teaching and assessment, including an award-winning University-invented ‘AI stunt double’ to assist teachers and student learning 

• international and domestic equity scholarship schemes that include targeted support for students from disadvantaged or low socio-economic backgrounds  

• a PhD student reframing dementia for Chinese speakers to reduce stigma and potentially change lives

• the first comprehensive Australian study into boosting the retention of women in construction   

• a new study on how Australia's unregulated tutoring industry potentially puts education safety, quality and fairness at risk  

• the harnessing of human-made lightning to develop a more efficient method of generating ammonia – one of the world’s most important chemicals 

• a study warning the gender gap in heart attack care won't close for a decade without urgent action 

• an engineering and commerce student inventing an AI tool to aid minke whale protection 

In the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025 the University had five subjects in the top 20 and 52 in the top 100. It was first in Australia in nine disciplines. 

The University ranked 72nd in the world, up two spots on last year and retaining its place in the top global 100 in the latest 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

Hero image credit: The University of Sydney