Shanghai Ranking 2026: Université Paris-Saclay ranks 1st among French universities and in the global top 20 for research
ShanghaiRanking Consultancy has published the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). Ranked 13th in the world, first in France and first in Continental Europe, Université Paris-Saclay has once again confirmed its position as a world-class research-intensive university.
As it has every year since its creation in 2020, Université Paris-Saclay is ranked among the top 20 universities in the ARWU. This international recognition of the quality of its research reflects the work and sustained commitment of the researchers and support staff across its approximately 220 laboratories, as well as of its wider education and research community.
First published in 2003, the Shanghai Ranking ranks the top 1,000 universities worldwide based on six criteria, including the number of Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals awarded to their researchers, the number of Highly Cited Researchers, and the number of papers published in the scientific journals Nature and Science. Université Paris-Saclay counts nine Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and members, including the two most recent laureates: Philippe Aghion, an alumnus of ENS Paris-Saclay and a founding member of Université Paris-Saclay, who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, and Michel Devoret, a Université Paris-Saclay alumnus who received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics. The university also counts twelve Fields Medallists, including Hong Wang, who was awarded the Fields Medal in July 2026, as well as seventeen Highly Cited Researchers in their respective fields.
The Shanghai Ranking is primarily based on criteria related to the quality, intensity and reputation of research. These criteria reflect an institution’s ability to remain a leading centre for education and research over the long term, requiring sustained investment and the continued commitment of its academic communities. Université Paris-Saclay is pursuing the same objective: to establish itself as a leading global institution for education and research; a world-class university with a strong focus on science, technology and medicine, and internationally recognised for its excellence in mathematics, physics, biological and medical sciences, computer science, agriculture, engineering, law and economics.
The international recognition provided by ARWU is a mark of quality not only for the laboratories, but above all for its students and graduates, who can draw on the national and international reputation associated with their institution and their degree.
“As this latest ARWU ranking demonstrates, Université Paris-Saclay has now firmly established itself among the world’s leading universities. Of course, rankings are not an end in themselves, but this is a mark of international recognition that reflects the momentum within our community. It is also a source of pride for France, with four of its universities ranked among the world’s top 100,” says Camille Galap, President of Université Paris-Saclay. He adds: “This recognised scientific excellence is also the result of financial investment, which must be maintained to preserve this high level of research and innovation. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that universities have a crucial role to play in our societies by providing concrete responses to the major challenges of our time. Who better than us to help drive innovation within an ecosystem geared towards collective progress, in particular by training doctors, lawyers, teachers and engineers in cutting-edge fields that are essential to the country, as well as scientists and decision-makers capable of imagining and delivering responses to the societal challenges we will have to face? This is my conviction: universities must be placed at the heart of society.”