Unicamp maintained its second-place ranking among the best Brazilian universities, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026, released this Thursday (9). The ranking is one of the most influential international university rankings, with a strong impact in both academic and non-academic contexts. Times Higher Education has published the ranking since 2004 and is considered a pioneer in the field.
In the 2026 THE World University Ranking, Unicamp is ranked 351-400, placing it among the top 20% of universities worldwide. This position is associated with an overall score of 49.9-51.5 (on a scale of 0-100). This is the third consecutive year that Unicamp has been ranked in this ranking. Until the 2023 edition, the university occupied positions 401-500.
The 2026 edition of the ranking features a record 2.191 universities evaluated. To be included in the main ranking, institutions must meet minimum eligibility criteria, such as offering undergraduate programs, registering at least 1.000 scientific publications between 2020 and 2024, and at least 150 publications per year, indexed in the Scopus database.
"Once again, we see a significant increase in the number of universities eligible for the ranking. Even so, Unicamp remains prominent among the world's leading universities," said Unicamp's Provost for University Development, Professor Fernando Sarti.
Highlight in the area of Education
The overall score that makes up the ranking involves 18 performance indicators organized into five major pillars – Teaching (with a weight of 29,5%), Research Environment (29%), Research Quality (30%), Industry (4%) and International Perspective (7,5%).
Among the five pillars that make up the ranking, Unicamp stands out primarily in Education, with a score of 51,7—corresponding to 120th place worldwide. In this indicator, Unicamp showed significant improvement compared to the 2025 edition, when it achieved a score of 48,8, ranking 141st.
The University also performs excellently in the Research Environment area, with a score of 48,0, ranking 151st in the world. This year's score is slightly higher than the 2025 edition's score of 47,2.
Another highlight is the Industry pillar, which includes revenue from industry and patent filings. In this category, Unicamp has a score of 78,1, ranking 358th overall. Performance in this pillar also improved; in the 2025 edition, the score was 76,7.
"It's important to highlight Unicamp's excellent performance across three indicators: teaching, research, and industry. This performance demonstrates the high quality of teaching and research at the university, as well as the importance of Unicamp's knowledge transfer to Brazilian industry," said Renato Garcia, faculty advisor at PRDU.
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