7 hours ago
QS World University Rankings 2026: SPPU is Maharashtra's top-ranked university, secures 566th rank globally
Written by Antara Kulkarni
The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has secured the 566th position in the recently released Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2026. QS evaluated over 8,500 universities globally, and its rankings encompass more than 1,500 universities. A total of 54 Indian universities found a spot in the rankings. SPPU is the top-ranked university in Maharashtra, and notched up the second position among public state universities in India.
QS rankings involve the evaluation of universities based on five parameters with different weightage: Research and Discovery, Employability and Outcomes, Global Engagement, Learning Experience, and Sustainability. For the 2026 rankings, International Student Diversity has also been introduced as an unweighted indicator. SPPU has received a high score in the 'Research and Discovery' parameter due to a higher ranking in 'Citations per Faculty', which has shown a 124-point increase when compared to the previous year, despite a reduction in the number of faculty this year.
The university has a high 'Global Engagement' score due to a higher ranking in 'International Research Network', and a high 'Learning Experience' score due to its performance in the 'Faculty Student Ratio' segment. The 'Employment Outcomes' score has also shown a 130-point increase over the 2025 rankings. Calculations based on these parameters have given the university a score of 29.3 out of 100.
'Moving forward, we remain firmly committed to further enhancing the quality of teaching, research, and global engagement in alignment with the transformative vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020… We are confident that once all the 111 sanctioned teaching positions are filled, Savitribai Phule Pune University will advance to a global rank within 500,' said Dr Suresh Gosavi, Vice-Chancellor, SPPU.
'The university has achieved an overall world ranking of 566, a significant improvement from its previous band of 631–640,' said Professor Parag Kalkar, SPPU, Pro Vice-Chancellor.
(Antara Kulkarni is an intern with The Indian Express)
