World Higher Education IndexGlobal university & programme rankings

Country ranking — 2026 edition

Best Universities in Switzerland

Switzerland combines low tuition with exceptional research funding per head, producing the highest faculty scores per capita anywhere in the index.

ETH Zurich is ranked first in the 2026 best universities in switzerland, with an overall score of 95.3 out of 100. EPFL is second and University of Zurich third. 22 institutions are ranked in this edition.

Published

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

    ETH Zurich

    Zurich

    Outcomes95
    Salary93
    Faculty97
    Selectivity95
    Employers95
    Network94
    95.3
    Score
  2. 2

    EPFL

    Lausanne

    Outcomes90
    Salary89
    Faculty93
    Selectivity89
    Employers89
    Network88
    89.7
    Score
  3. 3

    University of Zurich

    Zurich

    Outcomes82
    Salary82
    Faculty87
    Selectivity80
    Employers83
    Network80
    82.4
    Score
  4. 4

    University of Geneva

    Geneva

    Outcomes78
    Salary78
    Faculty84
    Selectivity76
    Employers80
    Network82
    78.9
    Score
  5. 5

    University of Bern

    Bern

    Outcomes77
    Salary76
    Faculty80
    Selectivity74
    Employers76
    Network74
    76.1
    Score
  6. 6

    University of Basel

    Basel

    Outcomes76
    Salary76
    Faculty81
    Selectivity73
    Employers76
    Network74
    75.7
    Score
  7. 7

    University of Lausanne

    Lausanne

    Outcomes74
    Salary74
    Faculty79
    Selectivity72
    Employers74
    Network73
    74.0
    Score
  8. 8

    USI Lugano

    Lugano

    Outcomes71
    Salary70
    Faculty72
    Selectivity67
    Employers69
    Network73
    69.8
    Score
  9. 9

    University of St Gallen

    St Gallen

    Outcomes73
    Salary71
    Faculty67
    Selectivity66
    Employers72
    Network71
    69.2
    Score
  10. 10

    University of Fribourg

    Fribourg

    Outcomes67
    Salary66
    Faculty66
    Selectivity66
    Employers71
    Network72
    68.8
    Score
  11. 11

    University of Neuchâtel

    Neuchâtel

    Outcomes67
    Salary70
    Faculty72
    Selectivity66
    Employers67
    Network68
    68.5
    Score
  12. 12

    Università della Svizzera italiana

    Lugano

    Outcomes71
    Salary68
    Faculty70
    Selectivity70
    Employers70
    Network66
    68.2
    Score
  13. 13

    IMD Business School

    Lausanne

    Outcomes65
    Salary70
    Faculty65
    Selectivity65
    Employers66
    Network68
    67.8
    Score
  14. 14

    Graduate Institute Geneva

    Geneva

    Outcomes65
    Salary68
    Faculty71
    Selectivity63
    Employers70
    Network69
    67.3
    Score
  15. 15

    Zurich University of Applied Sciences

    Winterthur

    Outcomes64
    Salary69
    Faculty66
    Selectivity67
    Employers66
    Network65
    66.9
    Score
  16. 16

    Bern University of Applied Sciences

    Bern

    Outcomes62
    Salary64
    Faculty66
    Selectivity68
    Employers65
    Network63
    66.6
    Score
  17. 17

    HES-SO

    Delémont

    Outcomes62
    Salary70
    Faculty69
    Selectivity67
    Employers69
    Network67
    66.0
    Score
  18. 18

    Lucerne University of Applied Sciences

    Lucerne

    Outcomes61
    Salary65
    Faculty65
    Selectivity63
    Employers68
    Network68
    65.5
    Score
  19. 19

    FHNW University of Applied Sciences

    Olten

    Outcomes68
    Salary65
    Faculty69
    Selectivity62
    Employers68
    Network65
    65.1
    Score
  20. 20

    EHL Hospitality Business School

    Lausanne

    Outcomes67
    Salary65
    Faculty67
    Selectivity64
    Employers62
    Network62
    64.7
    Score
  21. 21

    Franklin University Switzerland

    Lugano

    Outcomes63
    Salary63
    Faculty62
    Selectivity61
    Employers68
    Network64
    64.2
    Score
  22. 22

    Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences

    Zurich

    Outcomes60
    Salary64
    Faculty61
    Selectivity60
    Employers64
    Network66
    63.9
    Score

Switzerland 2026: frequently asked questions

Which institution is number one in the 2026 switzerland ranking?
ETH Zurich, based in Zurich, ranks first with an overall score of 95.3 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?
22 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.