IIM Ahmedabad tops Indian chart at 428th despite drop; Harvard retains global No.1 spot.
A total of 68 Indian universities and institutes have secured places in the 2025 edition of the Global 2000 list released by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) on Monday. Leading the Indian contingent is the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, ranked 428th globally, despite slipping 18 places from last year.
CWUR is a prominent consulting organisation offering strategic insights to governments and academic institutions to enhance educational and research outcomes.
For the fourteenth consecutive year, Harvard University has retained its position as the top-ranked university in the world. It is followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University. The University of Cambridge and University of Oxford complete the top five, making them the highest-ranked public universities globally.
The remainder of the global top 10 includes Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Yale, and the University of Chicago all private US institutions. China, meanwhile, has overtaken the US in terms of the number of institutions featured in the rankings, with 346 universities included, up from 324 last year.
An official statement from CWUR noted, “India is enhancing its global standing in higher education. Thirty-nine universities from India have improved their rankings from last year, while 29 have seen a drop.” The main driver of this upward trend is improved research performance — with 37 Indian institutions showing gains in this area.
IIM Ahmedabad, while still the top-ranked Indian institute, fell 18 spots to 428th place. It retains an impressive 11th position globally for employability but declined in the quality of education indicator. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is ranked 521st, down 20 places, while IIT Madras jumped 21 places to 561st, just ahead of IIT Bombay (562nd) and IIT Delhi (582nd).
India’s top ten institutions also include Delhi University (636), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (644), IIT Kharagpur (689), Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (736), and Homi Bhabha National Institute (820).
CWUR President Nadim Mahassen commented, “With sixty-eight Indian institutions in the rankings, India is well represented among the world’s top universities. Increased financial support from the government and prioritising education and science will make India even more competitive globally.”
Globally, Mahassen warned of a concerning trend in the US, noting that while top institutions remain dominant, many others are falling in the rankings. “The decline of the vast majority of US institutions should concern the education authorities, particularly as Chinese universities benefit from years of consistent government support,” he said.
Asia rankings:
The University of Tokyo remains Asia’s highest-ranked institution at 13th globally. Other Asian leaders include Kyoto University (24th), Seoul National University (31st), Tsinghua (37th), Peking (44th), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (46th), Shanghai Jiao Tong (61st), Hebrew University (65th), Zhejiang University (68th), and Weizmann Institute (70th).
Ranking methodology:
CWUR assessed 74 million data points to rank 21,462 universities globally based on four key metrics:
- Quality of education (25%)
- Employability (25%)
- Quality of faculty (10%)
- Research performance (40%)
Only the top 2,000 universities made it to the published list, representing 94 countries. Full results are available at cwur.org/2025.php.
India’s Top 10 in CWUR 2025 Rankings:
(Global rank | 2024 rank | Score)
- IIM Ahmedabad – 428 ▼ (410) – 75.2
- Indian Institute of Science – 521 ▼ (501) – 74.2
- IIT Madras – 561 ▲ (582) – 73.8
- IIT Bombay – 562 ▲ (568) – 73.8
- IIT Delhi – 582 ▲ (616) – 73.6
- Delhi University – 636 ▼ (622) – 73.2
- Tata Institute of Fundamental Research – 644 ▼ (606) – 73.1
- IIT Kharagpur – 689 ▲ (704) – 72.7
- Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research – 736 ▲ (798) – 72.4
- Homi Bhabha National Institute – 820 ▲ (903) – 71.8
(The full list includes 68 Indian institutions.)
source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)