UW ranked No. 2 public university in the U.S. by Time magazine

The university placed 20th overall in the World's Top Universities of 2026 analysis.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison was ranked second among public universities in the United States in a new ranking from Time magazine that highlights institutions that drive academic excellence globally.

The World's Top Universities of 2026 ranking puts UW-Madison at 20th overall worldwide, and ninth among publics worldwide.

Time chose and ranked the top 500 most influential higher education institutions worldwide by gathering data on a wide array of topics including research and teaching resources, faculty contributions to the advancement of science, alumni influence and student experience.

"UW-Madison's value lies not just in our direct teaching and research, but also in the impact our graduates have when they go out into the world and our contributions in advancing knowledge across the globe," says UW interim Provost John Zumbrunnen. "It's encouraging to see this value acknowledged in the Time rankings."

The rankings, created by global data and business intelligence platform Statista, looked at three key pillars:

• Academic capacity & performance: Resources devoted to teaching and research and results achieved.
• Innovation & economic impact: Contributions to the advancement of science and technology, diffusion of knowledge and influence on economic decision-making through the careers of graduates.
• Global engagement: The extent to which they attract international students and staff and the international attention they receive.

"The ranking places emphasis on the extent to which students achieve extraordinary success, for instance in patenting new inventions or rising to leadership roles in business," Time says in a release.