THE 2025 World University Rankings 2025: better international visibility for France

Every year, the Times Higher Education (THE) releases a world ranking of higher education institutions “recognised as the most complete”, since it is based on 18 indicators ranking institutions according to five key fields: teaching, research environment, quality of research, industry engagement, and international outlooks. The 2025 ranking has analysed 2,092 institutions including 185 new entries when compared with last year. 

Consolidation of French positions

In the case of France, the number of institutions ranked keeps increasing: it registers seven institutions more in the 2025 ranking to reach 50 institutions ranked for France. According to the ministry of higher education, this progress is an illustration of “investment of French players in teaching, research, transfer of knowledge and internationalisation”.

This good score consolidates the French position, improves “academic and scientific visibility in France and abroad”. In details, France has four institutions ranked in the Top 100: Paris Sciences et Lettres University (PSL in French) keeps its rank of first French university with a 11th rank in Europe and 42th worldwide. It is followed by Paris-Saclay University (64th worldwide), Polytechnic Institute of Paris (71st) and Sorbonne University (76th).

14 institutions in the Top 500

As the French ministry of higher education notes, in terms of number of institutions, France is 5th in Europe, equally ranked with Germany, behind the UK (107 institutions), Italy and Spain equally ranked (55 institutions).

A close look at the ranking shows that France 14 institutions in the Top 500. Ten more French institutions are included:

• Paris Cité University (183th);
• between the 201st and 300th position: Ecole normale supérieure de Lyon;
• between the 301st and 400th position: IMT Atlantique, l’Institut Agro, University of Montpellier, University of Grenoble Alpes;
• between the 401st and 500th position: Aix-Marseille University, Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University, University of Bordeaux, University of Toulouse.

Seven new institutions ranked

As the Ministry of Higher Education points out, the most important thing is undoubtedly the fact that the ranking now includes seven new French institutions. These are:

• École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort and University of Savoie Mont-Blanc (ranked between 801st and 1000th);
• University of Orléans (1001-1200);
• INSA Strasbourg, University of Angers, La Rochelle University and the University of Rouen Normandie (1201-1500).

The new Minister for Higher Education and Research, Patrick Hetzel, congratulated “all 50 French institutions ranked’ and welcomed ‘the increase in the number of French institutions present”. Hetzel thanked “all the teams for their work, which is helping to increase France's international influence and attractiveness”.