Almost all Austrian universities featured in the QS World University Rankings 2026 have lost ground compared to last year. The University of Vienna remains the top Austrian institution but slipped to 152nd place (from 137). Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) also narrowly stayed in the global top 200 at 197th (from 190). The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA, retains the No. 1 spot.
Austria’s third-best institution is the University of Innsbruck at 350th (from 309), followed by TU Graz at 427th (413), Johannes Kepler University Linz at 473rd (472), and the University of Salzburg at 650th (601–610). The only mover up was the University of Graz, rising to 668th (671–680). The University of Klagenfurt ranks last among Austrians at 697th (611–620).
Employer Reputation Dips Drive Declines
QS Quacquarelli Symonds bases 30 % of its ranking on a global academic-community survey of institutional reputation and 15 % on an employer survey. Teaching-staff ratio counts for 10 %, research citations 20 %, and 5 % each for international students, international faculty, sustainability, graduate outcomes, and research network.
Austrian universities fell mainly due to weaker employer‐survey scores. Six of the eight also declined in graduate outcomes and citation metrics.
The global top ten remains dominated by U.S. and U.K. institutions. After MIT come Imperial College London and Stanford. The highest-placed continental European university is the University of Zurich at seventh.
