The QS World University Rankings 2025 is the largest ever, featuring over 1,500 universities across 105 higher education systems.
The United States is the most represented country or territory in this year’s list, with 197 ranked institutions, followed by the United Kingdom with 90 and mainland China with 71.
For the 13th consecutive year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) holds on the top spot. Imperial College London takes second place and the University of Oxford and Harvard University are in third and fourth place respectively. The University of Cambridge rounds out the top five.
We studied the data available on the QS website to see how Scotland’s Top 12 universities compare to the best unis both globally and across the UK. Take a look through our photo gallery to see where they rank.
1. Global rankings for Scotland’s Top 12 universities
Take a look through our photo gallery to see how Scotland's universities compare against the world's best unis. Photo: Pixabay Photo: Pixabay
2. The University of Edinburgh
World rank: 27. UK rank: 5. Scotland rank: 1. Photo: Third Party
3. University of Glasgow
World rank: 78. UK rank: 11. Scotland rank: 2. Photo: Third Party
4. University of St Andrews
World rank: 104. UK rank: 16. Scotland rank: 3. Photo: Third Party