Which university named the world’s best for computer science?

Oxford, the oldest university in the U.K., led the field on the strength of its teaching quality and international outlook, according to the World University Ranking for computer science released on Wednesday by U.K.-based rankings organization Times Higher Education (THE).

The global top 10 is dominated by U.S. and U.K. institutions, with two exceptions: Switzerland’s ETH Zurich, which placed third, and China’s Peking University, which ranked 10th.

The highest-ranked U.S. institution is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in fourth place.

The 2026 THE computer science rankings assessed performance across areas including software development and engineering, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and cybersecurity and networks.

THE evaluated 1,165 universities from 84 countries and territories using 18 performance indicators. Institutions were required to produce at least 500 research outputs over the five-year period from 2020 to 2024 to be included.

University of Oxford campus in the U.K. Photo courtesy of the university

Among Asian universities, 19% improved their positions in the computer science rankings, THE said.

Four Asian institutions featured in the global top 20: Peking University, Tsinghua University in 12th place, National University of Singapore in 13th, and Nanyang Technological University in 16th.

Most recorded year-on-year gains, while NUS slipped to a joint 13th place alongside the University of California.

Oxford also claimed the title of the world’s best university overall in the THE World University Rankings 2026, ranking first for a record tenth consecutive year.