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

The 2026 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) is the only higher education institution in Latvia to have improved its position in this prestigious ranking this year, moving up from the 1501+ band to 1201–1500. A total of 2,191 universities are included in the ranking, almost 100 more than last year.

Based on publicly available data, RSU consistently ranks third among Latvian higher education institutions, behind the University of Latvia (LU) and Riga Technical University (RTU), whose positions in the ranking have remained unchanged this year (1001–1200). Fourth place nationally is held by the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, which continues to occupy the 1501+ position.

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

We have also improved our score in segments related to the quality of teaching and impact on the private sector (Industry).

As usual, we perform best in the International Outlook category, which is based on the proportion of international students, the proportion of international staff, and international collaboration in scientific publications. We rank 519th in the world in this category, although our score has fallen slightly (from 65.4 to 64.6).