Harvard University - Rankings Page

Harvard University is the oldest institution of higher education in the United States. It was founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is an inspiration of academic excellence, innovation, and historical prestige. Harvard serves a diverse community of approximately 24,519 students across its undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs.

In the competitive QS World University Rankings 2026, Harvard holds a strong #5th place, with notable strengths in employability. The U.S. News & World Report 2025-2026 has also ranked Harvard as number one in the world.

It operates across three campuses: the main Harvard College campus, Longwood, and Allston. The university consistently ranks high globally due to its top-tier faculty, quality research, and strong learning outcomes, attracting students from over 150 countries.

Harvard University World Rankings 2024-25

Over the past years, Harvard University has consistently ranked among the top global institutions. In the QS World University Rankings, Harvard maintained a stronghold between #4 and #5, landing at #5 in 2026. 

Meanwhile, in the Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings, Harvard held steady at #3 in 2025, reaffirming its dominance across teaching, research, and international outlook. Most notably, Harvard has retained the #1 position in the U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings for multiple consecutive years (2024-2026), highlighting its unmatched global reputation, faculty strength, and research output.

To gauge Harvard’s performance, let’s analyze how its rankings have changed over the years.

These rankings affirm Harvard’s place among the world’s elite institutions.

After reviewing the rankings for the colleges under Harvard, you can explore detailed rankings for specific subjects on platforms like QS, THE, and U.S. News.

Subject-Wise Ranking of Harvard University 2025

Harvard University excels in many subjects and is recognised worldwide. In the 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subject, Harvard University reaffirmed its global academic dominance by ranking #1 across four major subject areas: Arts & Humanities, Natural Sciences, Life Sciences & Medicine, and Social Sciences & Management. 

According to the Times Higher Education (THE) 2025 Rankings by Subject, Harvard achieved #1 in both Engineering and Life Sciences, along with strong top-5 finishes in Medicine, Psychology, Physical Sciences, and Education. 

In the U.S. News Best Global Universities rankings, Harvard continued its subject excellence with #1 in Immunology, #2 in Infectious Diseases, and a tie at #5 in Mathematics, while maintaining top positions in Meteorology and Materials Science.

Here’s how Harvard University’s programs perform across multiple ranking bodies:

QS Rankings 2025

QS Rankings are based on indicators such as academic reputation, faculty/student ratio, research citations, and international diversity.

All major programs at Harvard are ranked in the top 10 in the QS rankings, with Clinical Health being the best in the world. The engineering program occupies the #7 position and the business program #3 in the ranking.

Here’s a look at Harvard University’s performance.

Note: Rankings can vary based on specific programs or departments within the university.

(THE) Times Higher Education Rankings 2025

The Times Higher Education (THE) rankings are based on indicators such as teaching, research, citations, and industry income.

THE rankings validate the QS observation, with all major programs like law (#2) and business (#7) ranking in the top 10. The engineering program, in particular, has been ranked at the top position.

Here’s how various programs at Harvard University perform:

Note: Rankings can vary based on specific programs or departments within the university.

U.S. News Rankings 2025

The U.S. News rankings are based on factors such as graduation rates, student debt, and student-faculty ratio. Harvard’s programs, such as Applied Science (#3), Business (#6), and Humanities (#2), are ranked in the top 10.

Here’s how various programs rank in the U.S. News rankings:

Note: Rankings can vary based on specific programs or departments within the university.

Now that you’ve explored the rankings of Harvard University across three different agencies let’s take a look at how Harvard performs in other rankings.

H2: Miscellaneous Ranking 2025

Harvard ranks among the top 10 universities globally in rankings such as Forbes and Princeton Reviews, an indication of its exceptional quality and reputation.

Here’s how Harvard performs in other rankings:

Harvard’s exceptional performance in Forbes Rankings (#8) reflects its strong alumni success, high student satisfaction, and academic quality. 

The CWTS Leiden Ranking (#2) showcases its outstanding research output, citation impact, and international collaboration. 

Additionally, Harvard secured #4 place in Princeton Review rankings, underlining its excellence in academics, campus life, and overall student experience based on student feedback. 

Alternative rankings further highlight why Harvard is consistently rated highly. Now, let’s explore the achievements of Harvard students in academics and extracurriculars.

Harvard University: Excellence and Achievements

Harvard offers students opportunities to grow in the arts, such as music, theatre, and visual arts. It promotes leadership qualities through its numerous clubs, initiatives, and global exposure.

Here are some of the achievements of Harvard University.

Academic Excellence and National Recognition

Students from Harvard have achieved rare academic achievements such as Rhodes scholarships and Phi Beta Kappa honors.

Community and Lifestyle Recognitions

Harvard’s community development initiatives, including the Global Day of Service and Stad Fellowship, engage students, faculty, and alumni in giving back to society.

Cultural and Creative Excellence

Programs like Arts First and fellowship opportunities such as the Artist Development Fund are key highlights of Harvard’s commitment to fostering cultural excellence.

Now that you’ve explored Harvard’s achievements in academics, culture, and community development, let’s understand the relationship between ranking and acceptance rates.

Harvard University: Rankings Vs Acceptance Rate

Harvard University has one of the lowest acceptance rates at 3.4%, which indicates a selective nature of admissions. Programs such as Engineering and Medicine have similar acceptance rates, highlighting the academic quality and competitiveness of these fields.

Harvard's high rankings in Business, Engineering, and Medicine are impressive, but the low acceptance rates may not be directly linked to these rankings.

Now, let’s check out the methodologies used for rankings.

Ranking Methodologies

QS, Times Higher Education (THE), and U.S. News & World Report are the leading university ranking systems that have become benchmarks for assessing university performance. 

Each ranking focuses on aspects such as academic reputation, research quality, and global outlook to gauge the performance of universities.

Here’s a detailed look at the criteria used for ranking universities.

QS World University Rankings

The QS world ranking emphasizes employer reputation and academic outcomes, obtained from surveys of thousands of academic experts and employers worldwide. It also gives importance to faculty research and international student admissions.

Here are the criteria used in QS World University Rankings.

Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings

The Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings focus on research influence, teaching reputation, and staff-to-student ratio. It also emphasizes international diversity and industry income, assessing how well universities collaborate with industries and global academic networks.

Here are the criteria used by THE rankings.

U.S. News and World Report Rankings

This indicator uses special criteria like first-year retention rates, graduation rates, and student-faculty ratio. Other criteria like borrower debt and financial resources measure how well universities support low-income students. 

Here are the criteria used in U.S. News and World Report Rankings

The above rankings reflect how well a university is positioned to offer quality education and outcomes to students, using indicators like employability and industry applications.

Now, let’s explore how upGrad will help you study at Harvard University.

How Will upGrad Help You?

upGrad supports students and professionals with expert mentorship, industry-relevant courses, and flexible learning for academic and career growth. Bridge courses for specialized programs at Harvard, such as Cybersecurity and Data Science, will help students prepare for advanced studies.

Additionally, through its study abroad initiatives, upGrad will assist you in the following ways: 

• Expert Mentorship: Guidance from industry professionals and academic experts who provide personalized insights to help you succeed in your field.
• Industry-Relevant Courses: Learn practical, real-world skills through up-to-date courses designed to meet the needs of today's industry trends.
• Flexible Learning Options: Online courses and flexible schedules allow you to balance your education with other commitments.
• Career Support: Receive career coaching, job placement assistance, and networking opportunities to help you land your desired role.

Here are some popular study abroad courses offered by upGrad at Harvard University:

• Bachelor of Arts (A.B) in Computer Science
• Master of Engineering (M.E.) in Computational Science and Engineering
• Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) in Economics 
• Master of Science (S.M.) in Clinical Research

Conclusion

Harvard's consistently ranking in global publications like QS (#5) and THE (#3) solidify its reputation as a top-tier institution. Its exceptional performance in fields like Engineering (#7), Business (#3), and Clinical Health (#1), based on QS rankings, demonstrates its strength across all programs. 

However, its comparatively low ranking for Engineering (#20) in the U.S. News rankings suggests challenges in improving criteria such as student debt and graduate retention rates.

Other reputable rankings, such as Forbes and Princeton Review, also place Harvard in the top 10, reinforcing its status as one of the world's top universities.

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