Illinois schools maintain top positions in new 2026 university rankings

Three Illinois universities kept their places in a new global ranking of the world’s best colleges and universities, even as many U.S. schools lost ground, according to the Center for World University Rankings. The Chicago Business Journal reported that the University of Chicago ranked No. 10, Northwestern University ranked No. 15 and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked No. 22.

All three Illinois schools held the same positions they had in 2025, according to the ranking list. Harvard University finished No. 1 on the Global 2000 list, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University.

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China gains as U.S. slips

The Center for World University Rankings said it measures schools using factors such as employability and research output, and it does not rely on surveys like U.S. News & World Report. According to the center, the U.S. had eight of the top 10 schools and 313 schools on the list, but that was six fewer than a year earlier.

Per the institution's website, the factors are weighted as follows: 25% for education measured by the academic success of alumni relative to the university's size, 25% for employability, measured by the professional success of alumni at top companies, 10% for faculty quality measured by the number of faculty members who have won major academic distinctions and 40% for research, assessed through volume of output, high-quality publications, and citations.

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More than 250 U.S. universities fell in the standings, while 25 stayed in place and 36 improved, the ranking showed. Dr. Nadim Mahassen, president of the United Arab Emirates-based center, said American dominance is being challenged by China, the Chicago Business Journal reported.

Mahassen noted that 98% of Chinese universities ranked better in 2026 than in 2025. According to the report, China had the most schools on the list, with 360, while Europe was the most represented region overall with 620 institutions.

Among the top 25, the University of Chicago was the highest-ranked Illinois school, ahead of Northwestern and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The rest of the top 25 included schools in the U.S., Britain, Canada, France and Japan.