Panjab University Achieves Significant Leap in QS World University Rankings 2026

Ranked among top 950 globally, PU shows consistent four-year improvement and high citations per faculty.

Panjab University Achieves Significant Leap in QS World University Rankings 2026

Chandigarh, June 19, 2025: Panjab University has achieved a remarkable improvement in the QS World University Rankings 2026, jumping to the 901-950 band from its previous position of 1001-1200, marking a significant advancement of 100 positions.

The QS World University Rankings 2026, which evaluated 8,467 institutions from 106 countries and published rankings for 1,501 Institutions globally, recognised Panjab University's consistent progress across multiple performance indicators. This achievement represents the university's best performance in recent years, reflecting its commitment to academic excellence and research quality.

Key Highlights of Performance

Panjab University demonstrated significant improvement in several critical parameters:

Parameter

QS 2026

QS 2025

QS 2024

QS 2023

Overall Rankings

901-950

1001-1200

1001-1200

1201-1400

Rank by Indicator

Citations per Faculty

433

507

545

599

 Employment Outcomes

441

398

265

243

 Sustainability

684

701+

701

NA

 Academic Reputation

701+

601+

601+

501+

 Employer Reputation

701+

601+

601+

501+

 Faculty Student Ratio

801+

701+

701+

601+

 International Research Network

801+

701+

701+

601+

 International Students

801+

701+

701+

601+

 

QS 2026

QS 2025

QS 2024

Employment Outcomes

10

7

6

Sustainability

19

28

26

Citations per Faculty

25

25

25

International Students

28

22

19

Employer Reputation

30

25

24

Academic Reputation

35

29

30

International Research Network

36

30

27

Faculty Student Ratio

43

38

38

 

Outstanding Performance in Research and Employability

The university's most notable achievements include:

·         Research Impact: With a normalised citation score of 109.7 per faculty member (more than twice the global median of 52.0), Panjab University continues to demonstrate exceptional research productivity.

·         Employment Outcomes: Ranking 10th nationally, PU have achieved significant improvement, outperforming the global median.

·         Sustainability: With PU embarking on sustainability related curriculum, there is bound to be further improvement in its performance.

Research Excellence

Panjab University's research output continues to grow impressively:

·         9,467 papers published (2019-2023)

·         100,932 normalised citations

 

Progressive Improvement Over Years

The university's consistent upward trajectory is evident from its ranking progression:

Year

Global Rank

No of Institutes Participated

PU Percentage Rank among Institutes participated

2023

1201-1400

2462

48.78 %

2024

1001-1200

2963

33.8 %

2025

1001-1200

5,663

17.7 %

2026

901-950

8,467

10.6 %

PU Vice Chancellor,Prof. Renu Vighas expressed her delight at continuous improvement in its performance on most of the parameters over last 4 years. This significant improvement in our global ranking is a demonstration to the collective efforts of our faculty, researchers, students, and staff. Breaking into the top 900-950 Bracket globally represents a significant milestone in our journey towards academic excellence. Our strong performance in citations per faculty, and Sustainability largely highlights our focus on impactful research and student success. Our focus areas for the coming years include enhancing international collaborations, research networks, renewed focus on making PU as preferred academic destination for foreign students and strengthening our sustainability initiatives. She motivated the faculty, staff and students to continue in their stride towards global excellence.