Rankings

University rankings have become an important parameter in the global competition between universities to attract the most talented researchers and students.

A number of international university rankings are published each year. The method and indicators of the rankings vary and include bibliometrics, reputation, teaching, and international outlook.

Below is an overview of DTU’s current rank in various international rankings as well as an overview of the indicators and weights used.  


World Europe Nordic Region
Leiden Ranking
Proportion of Publications in Top 10%
125 45 2
Leiden Ranking
Proportion of Publications with Industry
20
5
2
QS World University Rankings 109 41
5
Best Global Universities
U.S. News
184 66 10
THE World University Rankings 124 50 8
Academic Ranking of World Universities
Shanghai Ranking
151-200 52-74 10-11
EngiRank
EU Ranking 
 -   1  1
       

Graphic presentation of DTU's ranking (pdf).

Learn more about the individual rankings

Leiden Ranking is produced by a team of researchers at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University, Netherlands.

The two indicators:

Impact indicator: Proportion of Publications in Top 10%
The proportion of publications of a university that - compared with similar publications - belong in the top 10% most frequently cited.

Leiden Ranking 2024 - impact top 10%

Under the headline "Indicators", choose:

  • Type of indicators: Scientific impact
  • Indicators: P, P(top 10%), PP(top 10%)
  • Order by: PP(top 10%)

Collaboration indicator: Proportion of Publications with Industry
The proportion of publications of a university that has been co-authored with industry.

Leiden Ranking 2024 - collaboration with industry

Under the headline "Indicators", choose:

  • Type of indicators: Collaboration
  • Indicators: P, P(industry), PP(industry)
  • Order by: PP(industry)

Data is published for the 1,506 largest universities in the world based on the number of Web of Science publications.

QS World University Rankings is produced by the international career and education network, QS (Quacquarelli Symonds).

The ranking is based on nine indicators:

  • Academic Reputation
  • Citations per Faculty
  • Employer Reputation
  • Faculty Student Ratio
  • Employment Outcomes
  • International Faculty Ratio
  • International Research Network
  • International Student Ratio
  • Sustainability

The bibliometric indicators are based on Scopus/SciVal. Data is published for the top 1,500 universities.

QS World University Rankings

Best Global Universities is produced by the digital media company U.S. News.

The ranking is based on 13 indicators:

  • Global research reputation
  • Regional research reputation
  • Publications
  • Books
  • Conferences
  • Normalized citation impact
  • Total citations
  • Number of publications that are among the 10 percent most cited
  • Percentage of total publications that are among the 10 percent most cited
  • International collaboration - relative to country
  • International collaboration
  • Number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1 percent most cited in their respective field
  • Percentage of total publications that are among the top 1 percent most highly cited papers.

The bibliometric indicators are based on Web of Science/InCites. Data is published for the top 2,250 universities.

Best Global Universities

Times Higher Education (THE) provides data, rankings, and consulting services on higher education. 

THE World University Rankings is based on 17 indicators covering five areas:

  • Teaching
  • Research Environment 
  • Research Quality
  • Industry 
  • International Outlook.

The bibliometric indicators are based on Scopus/SciVal. Data is published for the top 2,092 universities.

THE World University Rankings 2025

Academic Ranking of World Universities, better known as Shanghai Ranking, is developed by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy.

The ranking is based on six indicators:

  • Alumni of an institution winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals
  • Staff of an institution winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals
  • Highly cited researchers in 21 fields
  • Papers published in Nature and Science
  • Papers indexed in Science Citation Index-expanded and Social Science Citation Index
  • Per capita academic performance of an institution

The bibliometric indicators are based on Web of Science/InCites. Data is published for the top 1,000 universities.

Academic Ranking of World Universities 2024

EngiRank has been prepared by the Perspektywy Education Foundation, which has a long history of Polish university rankings, and the Foundation for the Development of the Education System.

The ranking is based on 13 indicators covering five areas:

  • Research
  • Innovation
  • SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • Internationalisation
  • Interdisciplinarity

The bibliometric indicators are based on Scopus/SciVal. Data is published for 184 higher education institutions from the European Union, Switzerland, and Norway.