Among these, the Jagiellonian University in the southern city of Kraków, the University of Warsaw, and the Wrocław Medical University in southwestern Poland shine brightest, all landing within the 601-800 band.
THE’s World University Rankings is a respected annual list, now in its 20th year, which assesses research-intensive universities worldwide. This year, it features 1,904 institutions from 108 countries, an increase from last year's 1,799. The rankings use 18 calibrated performance indicators, up from 13 last year. These indicators evaluate universities based on five pillars: teaching, research quality, research environment, international outlook, and industry engagement.
The rankings emphasize the resilience and adaptability of Poland's higher learning institutions in times of change. Poland has particularly excelled in the teaching and research sectors, surpassing the global average. Furthermore, the country stands out for its impressive student-staff ratio and its record of students studying abroad. In these metrics, Polish institutions even outperform many of the top 500 universities globally.
Phil Baty, THE’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, commended the strides made by Polish higher education. He remarked, "A number of universities in Poland have made significant gains in Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings for 2024, which is a great achievement." Baty also shed light on the challenges and transformations Polish education faces, such as the decline in domestic students. He noted an increase in international students, especially from Ukraine and the global South, but emphasized the tight funding situation for Polish universities.
Europe continues to be a formidable presence in the THE rankings with 664 ranked institutions, making it the second most represented continent after Asia. However, Europe's grip on the upper echelons of the rankings has been waning. From a high of 99 European universities in the top 200 in 2019, the continent now holds 91 spots. The UK witnessed the most significant decline this year, losing three positions in the top 200.
The 14 leading Polish universities in the 2024 THE World University Rankings are:
Jagiellonian University, Kraków (601–800)
University of Warsaw (601–800)
Wrocław Medical University (601–800)
Medical University of Łódź (801–1000)
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań (1001-1200)
AGH University of Kraków (1001-1200)
Gdańsk University of Technology (1001-1200)
Medical University of Białystok (1001-1200)
Medical University of Gdańsk (1001-1200)
Medical University of Warsaw (1001-1200)
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (1001-1200)
Poznań University of Medical Sciences (1001-1200)
SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities (1001-1200)
University of Wrocław (1001-1200)
(rt/pm)
Source: THE World University Rankings 2024
