CWUR 2026: Federico II maintains 243rd place in the world and rises to 5th in Italy
CWUR 2026: Federico II maintains 243rd place in the world and rises to 5th in Italy
It is the only university in the top ten Italian universities that does not retreat
In the 2026 edition of the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR)'s Global 2000, theFederico II is affirmed as the most significant figure on the Italian academic landscape: it is the only university to maintain its position unchanged from the previous year, while 52 universities drop in the rankings. The University of Frederick II is confirmed at 243rd place in the world rankings, fifth among Italian universities.
The CWUR - based in the United Arab Emirates - is among the most comprehensive and rigorous academic rankings in the world. Its rankings are globally recognized for its methodological approach based on objectivity, transparency and continuity of assessment. For the 2026 edition, 81 million data points were used to assess the performance of more than 21,000 institutions, with weighting that gives research 40 percent of the final score, while education and employability each weigh 25 percent and faculty quality the remaining 10 percent. Of the 2,000 universities entered in the rankings, 66 are Italian.
On the global front, Harvard is confirmed in first place for the 15th consecutive year, followed by MIT and Stanford, with Cambridge and Oxford in fourth and fifth place. The rest of the global top 10 is rounded out by Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Yale and University of Chicago.
Looking at the Italian top ten, Federico II's performance emerges through direct comparison with national competitors. In 2025, the Neapolitan University was sixth, with Turin ranked 5th in Italy and 242nd in the world. In 2026, Turin falls to 245th in the world, ceding fifth place nationally to the very Federico II, which remains stationary at 243rd.
Among the top ten Italian universities La Sapienza in Rome gives up 4 positions (129th), Padua as many (182nd), Milan loses 3 positions (194th). Bologna drops to 208th, Turin to 245th, Florence to 273rd, Pisa to 293rd, Genoa to 294th and Pavia to 335th.
Weighing most heavily is the decline in research performance, an area in which only 11 Italian universities record an improvement.