CWUR 2026 Rankings: Université PSL remains France’s top university and ranks 20th globally

With this achievement, Université PSL ranks among the top 0.1% of universities worldwide, demonstrating the excellence of its academic and scientific model on an international scale.

The CWUR rankings assess universities using objective indicators based on academic and professional outcomes, without relying on reputation surveys or self-reported data from the institutions. 

Recognition of the academic and scientific excellence of Université PSL 

The results achieved by Université PSL demonstrate its strong performance across all the areas assessed:

• Ranked 20th out of 21,291 universities worldwide
• The top university in France
• The 4th best university in Europe

This ranking reflects Université PSL's  ability to combine educational excellence (30th in the world for this indicator), research impact (80th) and graduate success (19th) within a world-class academic environment.  

A ranking based on objective criteria

The CWUR rankings are based on four main pillars: education, employability, faculty and research. Its methodology is distinguished by an approach based exclusively on indicators that measure universities’ outcomes and impact.

The criteria taken into account include, in particular:

• the academic success of alumni;
• graduates’ entry into the workforce and career paths;
• academic distinctions awarded to academic staff;
• scientific output, high-impact publications, research influence and citations.