The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, one of the most widely recognised higher education league tables globally, has published its latest rankings for 2027.
Ten Hungarian universities were included in this year’s list, but the results reveal a challenging year for the country’s higher education sector. Six institutions fell in the rankings, three maintained their positions, and only one university managed to improve its standing.
ELTE regains its position as Hungary’s top university
One of the most notable developments in the 2027 rankings is that Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) has once again become Hungary’s highest-ranked university. Although the institution slipped from 584th place to 595th, it nevertheless overtook the University of Debrecen, which had been the country’s leading university in the previous edition of the rankings.
The University of Debrecen dropped from 563rd place in 2026 to 600th in the latest ranking. The University of Szeged retained third place among Hungarian institutions, despite falling from 597th to 633rd globally.
How Hungarian universities performed
The positions of Hungarian universities in the QS World University Rankings 2027 are as follows:
- 595th: Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
- 600th: University of Debrecen
- 633rd: University of Szeged
- 751–760: Budapest University of Technology and Economics
- 791–800: University of Pécs
- 1001–1200: Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- 1001–1200: Széchenyi István University
- 1001–1200: Óbuda University
- 1001–1200: University of Pannonia
- 1401+: University of Miskolc
The University of Pannonia recorded the most significant improvement among Hungarian institutions, moving up from the 1201–1400 band into the 1001–1200 category. It was the only university in Hungary to improve its position compared with the previous year.
What Criteria Does the QS Ranking Use?
The QS World University Rankings evaluate institutions using a broad range of indicators. These include academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations, faculty-to-student ratio, and the proportion of international students and academic staff.
The methodology also places considerable emphasis on international research collaboration, graduate employability, and sustainability performance.
International Research Networks Remain a Key Strength
According to QS, Hungarian universities continue to perform strongest in the area of international research partnerships. In this category, ELTE ranked 293rd globally, while the University of Szeged and the University of Debrecen placed 432nd and 439th, respectively.
In terms of employer reputation, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics achieved the best result among Hungarian institutions, ranking 326th worldwide. It was followed by Széchenyi István University in 406th place and ELTE in 459th.
ELTE also achieved the strongest result in the graduate employability indicator, ranking 239th globally. This suggests that its graduates remain highly competitive in the labour market by international standards.
Hungary continues to attract international students
Two Hungarian universities ranked among the world’s top 300 institutions for the proportion of international students. The University of Pécs placed 245th, while the University of Debrecen ranked 268th.
However, this indicator also recorded the most significant decline overall. Around 60 per cent of the ranked Hungarian universities performed worse than in the previous year in terms of attracting and retaining international students.
Academic reputation and research impact remain major challenges
The rankings indicate that the weakest areas for Hungarian higher education continue to be academic reputation and research impact. In the academic reputation category, half of the country’s universities saw their scores decline, and ELTE was the only Hungarian institution to secure a place among the world’s top 500 universities.
A similar picture emerges in citation performance. No Hungarian university managed to break into the world’s top 600 institutions based on research citations, suggesting that the international visibility and influence of Hungarian research output remain limited.
There is always room for improvement
The situation is also less favourable regarding the proportion of international academic staff. In this category, no Hungarian university ranked among the world’s top 800 institutions.
Hungarian universities continue to excel in international collaboration and graduate employability, but improving global academic recognition, increasing research impact, and attracting more international academics remain the main tasks for the country’s higher education sector.
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