Vilnius University slips in QS rankings, still tops in Lithuania

Vilnius University has dropped 19 places to 465th in the QS World University Rankings 2027, continuing a gradual decline from its 439th position two years ago. University officials stated that the drop is not a cause for alarm, attributing it to the highly competitive nature of global higher education, methodological changes in the rankings, and the performance of rival institutions. They emphasized that the university focuses on specific indicators rather than the overall rank and noted significant improvements this year in graduate employment outcomes and employer reputation.

A total of five Lithuanian universities were included in the rankings. Kaunas University of Technology climbed to 696th place, overtaking Vytautas Magnus University, which slipped slightly to the 751–760 bracket; both had previously been grouped together in the 741–750 band. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University also rose, moving from the 851–900 bracket to 791–800. Mykolas Romeris University held steady in the 1,001–1,200 range.

The rankings evaluated 8,800 institutions across 106 countries, with 1,504 universities making the final list. The top positions were claimed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Imperial College London, Stanford, Oxford, Harvard, and Cambridge.