RSU moves up in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings

06 October 2026

Rankings

The 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, which annually evaluate the performance of more than 3,000 higher education institutions in research, contribution to education, international collaboration, and impact on the private sector, have been published. Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) has improved its position, moving from the 1201–1500 band to the shared 1201–1400 band.

A total of 2,297 universities are included in the ranking. In recent years, the number of universities included has increased by about 100 each year.

Based on publicly available data, RSU remains in third place among Latvia’s higher education institutions, behind the University of Latvia, which remains in the 1001–1200 band, and Riga Technical University, which has moved up to the 801–1000 band.

Fastest growth in ranking points in the Baltics

All universities in Latvia have improved their overall scores. Moreover, RSU has recorded the fastest growth in overall points in the Baltics, with an increase of 4.63 points, compared with an average increase of 1.12 points across the Baltic states.

RSU’s rise in the ranking can be explained primarily by relative improvements in categories related to research quality and research environment.

Research quality

In this category, RSU continues to make rapid progress, increasing its score to 47.5 points (39.1 in 2026 and 31 in 2025) and becoming the leader in Latvia. This category is based on several indicators related to the citation rates and academic impact of scientific publications from 2021 to 2025. Given RSU’s targeted approach to publishing in higher-quality journals, this positive outcome is logical, though by no means guaranteed, as it has been achieved in a highly competitive environment.

Research environment

There has also been a significant improvement in this area, from 16.9 points in 2026 to 23.3 this year. This result is based on the level of research funding, researcher productivity and the reputation of research within academic circles.

Teaching

There has been a slight increase in the number of points earned, from 18.5 to 18.8. The result is based on the university’s income, the ratio of academic staff to students (and, separately, to doctoral graduates), the number of doctoral degrees awarded compared with the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and the university’s reputation for teaching among academic circles.

International outlook

As usual, RSU’s strongest performance is in this category, which is based on the proportion of international students and academic staff and the share of scientific publications resulting from international collaboration. Globally, RSU remains close to the top 500, with its overall score increasing from 64.6 to 66.8.