Times Higher Education WUR 2027: University of Bucharest, Romania’s leading comprehensive university and among the world’s top 1,000 higher education institutions

According to the latest World University Rankings, produced by Times Higher Education (THE), now in its 23rd edition and published on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, the University of Bucharest (UB) ranks first among comprehensive universities in Romania. For indicators highlighting the performance of the research environment, the University of Bucharest ranks first nationally, followed by Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca and Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu.

A consistent presence in the prestigious THE World University Rankings, the University of Bucharest is ranked internationally in the overall 801–1000 range. The 23rd annual edition of the THE World University Rankings includes 2,297 universities from 118 countries and regions, an increase compared with the previous edition, which included 2,191 universities from 115 countries.

The ranking methodology, with a focus on research

The ranking, which is based on 17 performance indicators, takes into account five main areas in defining its ranking methodology: teaching and learning environment, research environment, research quality and influence, the university’s international outlook, and knowledge transfer to industry. The THE World University Rankings team used a methodology that better reflects universities’ results, as follows:

• teaching and learning environment – weighting of 29.5%;
• research environment (volume, income, and reputation) – weighting of 29%;
• research quality and influence (citation impact, research quality, excellence, and research influence) – weighting of 30%;
• international outlook (staff, students, research) – weighting of 7.5%;
• industry impact (income, patents) – weighting of 4%.

World University Rankings, featuring the universities of the Universitaria Consortium

Among the Romanian universities included in the ranking are several higher education institutions that are partners of the University of Bucharest in the Universitaria Consortium: the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, West University of Timișoara, Dunărea de Jos University of Galați, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, the University of Craiova, and Ovidius University of Constanța.