World Higher Education IndexGlobal university & programme rankings

Country ranking — 2026 edition

Best Universities in the Netherlands

Dutch universities teach a majority of their masters programmes in English and draw heavily international cohorts, which lifts network scores across the table.

Delft University of Technology is ranked first in the 2026 best universities in the netherlands, with an overall score of 86.3 out of 100. University of Amsterdam is second and Utrecht University third. 28 institutions are ranked in this edition.

Published

Outcomes 30%Salary 20%Faculty 15%Selectivity 15%Employers 10%Network 10%
  1. 1

    Delft University of Technology

    Delft

    Outcomes89
    Salary86
    Faculty88
    Selectivity84
    Employers86
    Network85
    86.3
    Score
  2. 2

    University of Amsterdam

    Amsterdam

    Outcomes84
    Salary82
    Faculty88
    Selectivity82
    Employers85
    Network87
    84.1
    Score
  3. 3

    Utrecht University

    Utrecht

    Outcomes82
    Salary80
    Faculty87
    Selectivity80
    Employers83
    Network82
    82.0
    Score
  4. 4

    Leiden University

    Leiden

    Outcomes80
    Salary78
    Faculty87
    Selectivity80
    Employers82
    Network81
    80.7
    Score
  5. 5

    Erasmus University Rotterdam

    Rotterdam

    Outcomes84
    Salary85
    Faculty79
    Selectivity79
    Employers82
    Network82
    80.2
    Score
  6. 6

    Wageningen University & Research

    Wageningen

    Outcomes80
    Salary76
    Faculty87
    Selectivity77
    Employers80
    Network80
    79.6
    Score
  7. 7

    Eindhoven University of Technology

    Eindhoven

    Outcomes83
    Salary82
    Faculty79
    Selectivity75
    Employers77
    Network74
    77.8
    Score
  8. 8

    University of Groningen

    Groningen

    Outcomes77
    Salary74
    Faculty82
    Selectivity74
    Employers77
    Network77
    76.3
    Score
  9. 9

    Radboud University

    Nijmegen

    Outcomes77
    Salary73
    Faculty74
    Selectivity79
    Employers74
    Network80
    75.7
    Score
  10. 10

    Maastricht University

    Maastricht

    Outcomes77
    Salary76
    Faculty71
    Selectivity78
    Employers79
    Network76
    75.1
    Score
  11. 11

    VU Amsterdam

    Amsterdam

    Outcomes72
    Salary71
    Faculty76
    Selectivity74
    Employers75
    Network78
    74.6
    Score
  12. 12

    University of Twente

    Enschede

    Outcomes78
    Salary75
    Faculty76
    Selectivity76
    Employers72
    Network74
    74.3
    Score
  13. 13

    Tilburg University

    Tilburg

    Outcomes76
    Salary70
    Faculty73
    Selectivity71
    Employers78
    Network73
    73.5
    Score
  14. 14

    Open University of the Netherlands

    Heerlen

    Outcomes75
    Salary69
    Faculty72
    Selectivity70
    Employers71
    Network69
    73.1
    Score
  15. 15

    Nyenrode Business University

    Breukelen

    Outcomes75
    Salary70
    Faculty72
    Selectivity70
    Employers70
    Network73
    72.3
    Score
  16. 16

    Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

    Amsterdam

    Outcomes68
    Salary75
    Faculty75
    Selectivity76
    Employers70
    Network76
    71.9
    Score
  17. 17

    Hague University of Applied Sciences

    The Hague

    Outcomes68
    Salary67
    Faculty69
    Selectivity68
    Employers70
    Network71
    71.3
    Score
  18. 18

    Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences

    Rotterdam

    Outcomes71
    Salary66
    Faculty68
    Selectivity67
    Employers68
    Network68
    70.8
    Score
  19. 19

    Fontys University of Applied Sciences

    Eindhoven

    Outcomes74
    Salary68
    Faculty72
    Selectivity69
    Employers72
    Network74
    70.5
    Score
  20. 20

    Hanze University of Applied Sciences

    Groningen

    Outcomes74
    Salary73
    Faculty71
    Selectivity73
    Employers67
    Network73
    70.1
    Score
  21. 21

    HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht

    Utrecht

    Outcomes68
    Salary67
    Faculty68
    Selectivity73
    Employers67
    Network72
    69.4
    Score
  22. 22

    Saxion University of Applied Sciences

    Enschede

    Outcomes68
    Salary73
    Faculty65
    Selectivity67
    Employers66
    Network71
    69.0
    Score
  23. 23

    Avans University of Applied Sciences

    Breda

    Outcomes72
    Salary68
    Faculty70
    Selectivity72
    Employers66
    Network68
    68.6
    Score
  24. 24

    NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences

    Leeuwarden

    Outcomes67
    Salary64
    Faculty69
    Selectivity64
    Employers65
    Network64
    68.1
    Score
  25. 25

    Breda University of Applied Sciences

    Breda

    Outcomes65
    Salary67
    Faculty64
    Selectivity64
    Employers68
    Network71
    67.4
    Score
  26. 26

    Zuyd University of Applied Sciences

    Heerlen

    Outcomes70
    Salary71
    Faculty67
    Selectivity67
    Employers68
    Network64
    67.1
    Score
  27. 27

    Windesheim University of Applied Sciences

    Zwolle

    Outcomes68
    Salary67
    Faculty66
    Selectivity70
    Employers71
    Network63
    66.7
    Score
  28. 28

    Inholland University of Applied Sciences

    Haarlem

    Outcomes67
    Salary66
    Faculty63
    Selectivity66
    Employers67
    Network67
    65.9
    Score

Netherlands 2026: frequently asked questions

Which institution is number one in the 2026 netherlands ranking?
Delft University of Technology, based in Delft, ranks first with an overall score of 86.3 out of 100.
How is this ranking calculated?
Every entry is scored on the same six weighted indicators — Graduate outcomes (30%), Salary uplift (20%), Faculty & research strength (15%), Selectivity (15%), Employer reputation (10%), Cohort & network reach (10%) — each normalised across the table and combined into an overall score out of 100. Nothing is reweighted table by table.
How many institutions are ranked, and how often is the table updated?
28 institutions appear in the 2026 edition. A new edition is published every year on 30 September, with all six indicators re-collected for that edition.
Can an institution pay to appear or move up?
No. No institution pays to be assessed, to appear in a table, or to change its position, and no score is shown to an institution before publication.

Related rankings

Scored on the composite set out in our methodology. See also all rankings.