Bartlett School of Architecture, firmly maintaining its No. 1 position in the world for many years

The Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London (UCL) in the UK once again ranked first in the 2026 QS World University Rankings for Architecture and Built Environment. In this ranking published by Quacquarelli Symonds, a global higher education rating agency, Bartlett consolidated its leading position that it had maintained for several years.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ranked second, the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands ranked third, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) ranked fourth, and the Manchester School of Architecture in the UK ranked fifth.

European universities are making remarkable progress

The most notable change in this year's rankings is the strength of European universities. Italy's Politecnico di Milano rose to 6th place and settled in the top rankings. ETH Zurich and Delft University of Technology also remained firmly in the top five, proving the excellence of European architectural education.

Harvard University and the National University of Singapore (NUS) were jointly ranked 7th. China's Tsinghua University ranked 9th, and the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) ranked 10th, completing the top 10.

Asian universities consistently maintain top rankings

In Asia, the National University of Singapore and Tsinghua University continue to maintain global top rankings. In addition, many major Asian universities were ranked in the top 50, including Tongji University in China (12th), University of Hong Kong (14th), University of Tokyo (17th), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (21st), Nanyang Technological University (27th), and Seoul National University (31st).

Seoul National University ranked 31st and was the only Korean university to be ranked in the top 50.

Major university rankings

Looking at the top 20, the Polytechnic Institute of Lausanne (EPFL) ranked 11th, Dongji University ranked 12th, University of Cambridge ranked 13th, University of Hong Kong ranked 14th, RMIT University ranked 15th, Columbia University ranked 16th, University of Tokyo ranked 17th, and Polytechnic University of Turin ranked 18th. Cornell University and Barcelona Institute of Technology tied for 19th place.

Overall, the 2026 rankings were a minor ranking adjustment rather than a large-scale change, and are analyzed as a result of reflecting the academic reputation and research performance of each university.