Shanghai, Leiden, Reuters:UM International Rankings
The University of Montpellier ranks among the very best in the world’s leading university rankings. This is a testament to the positive momentum generated by the rollout of its I-SITE (France 2030) program of excellence.
Shanghai Ranking: UM in the Top 200
The 2025 Shanghai Global Ranking
The Shanghai Ranking is published annually by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China). It is one of the leading benchmarks in the academic world. The 2024 edition of the Shanghai Ranking once again demonstrates theUM very positive overall momentumUM has been ranked among the top 151–200 universities in the world for the eighth consecutive year. Having shown steady improvement since 2016, whenUM in the top 400, these strong results demonstrate that the University of Montpellier—thanks in particular to its I-SITE Excellence Program—is a major player in higher education, Research innovation in France.
The 2025 Shanghai Thematic Ranking
This international subject-specific ranking analyzes and ranks the world’s top universities by academic subject. More than 50 subject areas—including natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medicine, and social sciences—are listed and analyzed. Based on performance criteria such as universities’ publications, their impact, international reach, and the quality of their research, as well as international prizes and awards received, this ranking places the University of Montpellier among the world’s best universities for the eighth consecutive year.
This new edition of the Shanghai thematic rankings confirms the University of Montpellier’s position among the most internationally recognized institutions. Ecology ranks prominently, placing 14th globally and first in France, attesting to the discipline’s national leadership. It is also the only French university (outside of Paris) to have a subject area ranked in the global top 10.
Several subject areas are ranked among the world’s top 75, including robotics, water resources, and agricultural sciences, which are ranked at the very top nationally (1st or 2nd place). These results demonstrate the strength of the institution’s areas of expertise, for which it is particularly well known.
The global top 100 also includes remote sensing, statistics, and oceanography, with the latter showing significant growth compared to 2024, when it was ranked in the top 150. These developments highlight a positive trend in strategic scientific fields.
Other disciplines, such as food science and technology (ranked 2nd nationally) and chemistry, remain in the world’s top 150, confirming the diversity and strength of the university’s centers of excellence.
Time Magazine's Ranking
In the 2026 edition of the “World’s Top Universities” ranking published by TIME Magazine on January 28, 2026, the University of Montpellier stood out by ranking 244th worldwide. It thus ranks as the third-best French university, behind Sorbonne University and Paris-Saclay, and becomes the top university outside of Paris in this international ranking.
This ranking, developed in partnership with Statista R, evaluates more than 500 universities worldwide based on criteria related to academic performance, research, innovation, economic impact, and international influence.
This recognition reflects the quality of the education, the scientific excellence, and the commitment of the entire Montpellier academic community. It also demonstratesUM abilityUM address the major contemporary challenges facing higher education.
With this achievement, the University of Montpellier reaffirms its position among the leading institutions in Europe and internationally, and enhances its appeal to students, researchers, and partners from around the world.
TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION (THE)
The Times Higher Education Impact Rankingsaim to measure higher education institutions’ commitment to and performance in sustainable development. This innovative ranking goes beyond simply evaluating research or education; instead, it adopts a different, much more societal approach. It is based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015.
The University of Montpellier has confirmed its rise inThe Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. In itssixthedition, the university maintains its top spot among French institutions and ranks among the world’s top 101–200 institutions overall, thanks to its long-standing commitment to sustainable development. This year, it ranks among the world’s top 50 for two goals related to the university’s core themes: feeding, healthcare, and protection.UM in the “Good Health and Well-being” SDG, ranking30thglobally and first in France.UM significantUM in the “Life Below Water” SDG, ranking30thglobally and once again takingfirstplace nationally, demonstrating once moreUM excellenceUM the field of ecology.
The University of Montpellier ranks67thworldwide in the SDG “reducing inequalities” category and77thin the SDG “decent work and economic growth” category, making it the top-ranked French institution. All of these results reflectUM full commitmentUM social responsibility.
Leiden Ranking: Center for World University Rankings
Created in 2011, the ranking produced by the Center for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University measures the scientific reputation of institutions and their research collaborations. The 2024 ranking includes more than 1,500 institutions and covers five disciplinary fields: medicine, physics, life and earth sciences, mathematics, and humanities and social sciences. The Leiden Ranking is based on scientific publications, particularly articles published in scientific journals, which enable it to select sophisticated bibliometric indicators to generate results and analyze university rankings according to one or more selected indicators.
- The quality of education, measured by the number of a university’s alumni who have won international awards, prizes, and medals relative to the university’s size (25%)
- The employability of alumni, measured by the number of a university’s alumni who have held CEO positions at the world’s largest companies relative to the university’s size (25%)
- The university's academic quality, as measured by the number of faculty members who have won international awards, prizes, and medals (10%)
- Research output, measured by the total number of research articles (10%)
- High-quality publications, as measured by the number of research articles published in top-tier journals (10%)
- Influence, as measured by the number of research articles published in highly influential journals (10%)
- Citations, measured by the number of research papers cited (10%)
The University of Montpellier has once again confirmed its scientific standing both nationally and internationally, according to the rankings, placing 4th nationally (the top university outside Paris) and 203rd globally.
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings, established in 2004, is one of the world’s most prestigious rankings of higher education and research institutions. It places significant emphasis on reputation surveys, which account for 50% of the evaluation. This year, out of more than 1,700 of the most recognized universities in about 100 countries, 171 institutions are ranked across 55 subject-specific rankings, all grouped into five fields.
Now in its 15th edition, it maintains its position in the overall rankings among the world's and the nation's top institutions.
The University of Montpellier is the French institution that has made the most progress this year, rising from 151st to 119th place in environmental sciences “thanks to significant gains in terms of academic reputation and reputation among employers,” the British firm also notes.UM 22 times in this year’s rankings, compared to 18 times in 2024, confirming its steady year-over-year progress.
National Taiwan University (NTU) Ranking
The “Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities,” also known as the NTU rankings, are published annually by National Taiwan University (NTU). They compare the scientific performance of universities worldwide based on academic publications, focusing on three key areas: research productivity, research impact, and research excellence. This year, NTU is releasing an overall performance ranking (top 1,000), as well as six discipline-specific rankings and 27 subject-specific rankings (top 100 and top 500).
The University of Montpellier is thus ranked among the top 4 in France and the top 127 worldwide in the NTU World University Rankings. It also performs remarkably well in subject-specific rankings by academic field and research topic.
Reuters: France's second-ranked university
This ranking lists the 100 most innovative universities in the world: those that make the greatest efforts to advance science, invent new technologies, and help drive the growth of the global economy. Unlike other rankings, which are often based entirely or in part on subjective surveys, Reuters’ ranking relies exclusively on empirical data such as patent filings and citations of research publications.
In 2019, the University of Montpellier ranked second in France and 17th in Europe.