University of Ljubljana among the top 200 European universities in the QS Europe rankings for the first time
Bor Slana/STA
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In the third edition of the international QS Europe 2026 rankings of the best European universities, published in January, the University of Ljubljana (UL) was ranked 197th, marking its best-ever position in this list and its first entry among the top 200 universities in Europe. At the same time, the UL achieved an excellent 8th place among European universities in the category of Employment Outcomes, or graduate employability.
Compared with last year, the UL improved its position by 24 places and now ranks firmly within the top quartile of universities on the list, despite a significant increase in the number of ranked institutions. A total of 958 European universities are included in the QS Europe 2026 rankings, of which 291 are new entrants compared with last year’s edition. In both previous editions of the rankings, the UL was placed within the top third of European universities. This year’s result therefore complements the UL’s strong performance in the QS World University Rankings 2026, reported in July last year, where the UL achieved its best result of the past decade, with a ranking of 535th worldwide.
The QS Europe rankings are based on an analysis of 12 indicators grouped into five broad areas (Research and Discovery, Employability and Reputation, Learning Experience, Global Engagement, and Sustainability). Among the individual indicators, in addition to Employment Outcomes, where the UL dropped by two places compared with last year due to the larger number of ranked universities, the UL achieved its strongest result in the indicator measuring the proportion of incoming exchange students, ranking 97th and improving its last year’s position by 22 places.
The UL is also ranked among the top 200 European universities based on the indicator related to engagement in the international research environment and international networks, which assesses universities’ success in establishing international research partnerships (145th place), the number of UL students participating in exchanges abroad (156th place), and academic reputation (164th place). The UL improved its position in all of these indicators compared with last year. Furthermore, the UL is ranked among the top 300 European universities in indicators focusing on the faculty-student ratio, employer reputation, and sustainability.