Four Indian universities have figured in the list of the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings 2025. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru is among the best performers from India. The other three include the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, IIT Madras, and Shiksha ‘O” Anusandhan.

All the Indian institutes have seen a drop in their rankings, compared to one released in 2023. While IISc, which was ranked 101-125, is now ranked at 201-300. IIT Delhi and IIT Madras, which now rank at 201-300 respectively, were ranked 151-175 and 176-200 respectively in the 2023 edition. Shiksha ‘O’ Anusandhan is the new entrant this year and is ranked at 201-300.  IIT Bombay which was among the list of THE World Reputation Rankings in 2023 ranking 151-175, is not on the list anymore.

The Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2025 reveals the top universities for academic reputation and prestige globally. This year, 300 institutions from 38 countries and territories were ranked based on six performance indicators for the first time – research vote count, teaching vote count, research pairwise comparison, teaching pairwise comparison, research voter diversity, and teaching voter diversity.

Harvard University remains number one for the 14th consecutive year in THE World Reputation Rankings. Oxford University is now joint second – the highest position for a UK institution since 2015. Oxford is ranked second with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Universities in the United States dominate the top end of the rankings, with six institutions in the top 10.

Tsinghua University in China maintains the eighth position globally. LMU Munich, KU Leuven, Sorbonne University, the University of Melbourne, the University of Hong Kong, and the University of Manchester all join the top 50 most powerful university brands.

This year ten new countries have entered the ranking, including Malaysia and Poland. Additionally, Sub-Saharan Africa has been recognised for its academic reputation for the first time since 2022.

Four new countries — Chile, Malaysia, Poland and Portugal, make their World Reputation Rankings debut.