A total of 25 universities from Türkiye were included in the QS World University Rankings 2027, with six institutions placed among the world's top 500 and eleven ranked within the top 1,000.

The rankings, published by international higher education analytics organization Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), evaluated 1,504 universities from 106 countries and territories based on indicators including academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty member, international faculty ratio, international student ratio, international research networks, employment outcomes and sustainability.

Among Turkish institutions, Istanbul Technical University (ITU) achieved the highest ranking, rising to 279th place globally. It was followed by Middle East Technical University (METU) in 305th place, Koç University in 329th, Boğaziçi University in 345th, Sabancı University in 357th and Bilkent University in 454th, placing all six among the world's top 500 universities.

Within the top 1,000, Hacettepe University ranked 570th, Istanbul University 629th and Yıldız Technical University 634th. Ankara University was placed in the 731–740 band, while Gebze Technical University ranked within the 851–900 range.

Other Turkish universities included in the rankings were Ege University, Gazi University, Marmara University, Atatürk University, Dokuz Eylül University, Erciyes University, Istanbul Aydın University, Izmir Institute of Technology, Özyeğin University, Selçuk University, Akdeniz University, Çukurova University, Karadeniz Technical University and Sakarya University, all of which were ranked within the 1,000–1,500 range.

"Three Turkish universities rank among world's top 100 for employer reputation"

Turkish universities also performed strongly in the employer reputation category, one of the ranking's key indicators. METU ranked 63rd globally, ITU 73rd and Boğaziçi University 75th, placing all three among the world's top 100 universities in terms of employer reputation.

Boğaziçi University also ranked 93rd worldwide in graduate employability outcomes, highlighting the growing international recognition of Turkish university graduates.

"Results confirm growing international recognition"

Commenting on the results, Council of Higher Education (YÖK) President Erol Özvar said quality-oriented reforms, efforts to strengthen research capacity, internationalization strategies and university-industry cooperation had contributed positively to the global performance of Turkish universities.

"The results once again confirm the growing international recognition of Türkiye's higher education institutions and the value employers place on our graduates," Özvar said.

He added that the achievements reflected the increasing global competitiveness and visibility of Türkiye's higher education system and expressed confidence that the country's universities would continue to strengthen their international standing in the years ahead. (ILKHA)