Best Universities in Europe

Europe is home to many of the world's oldest and most respected universities, from centuries-old institutions to modern research powerhouses. For international students, it offers an exceptional combination of academic quality, a wide choice of English-taught programmes, and — in many countries — comparatively affordable or even tuition-free public education.

The universities below are ranked using EduRank's independent assessment of research output and reputation. Explore each institution's key facts, acceptance rate and available programmes to find the right fit for your studies.

Showing top 60 of 201 ranked · 794 universities across Europe
University of Oxford Logo
#1

University of Oxford

Oxford, United Kingdom
#3
World rank
26,800
Students
22%
Acceptance
260
Programmes
cambridge_university
#2

University of Cambridge

Cambridge, United Kingdom
#6
World rank
159
Programmes
University College London (UCL) logo
#3

University College London (UCL)

London, United Kingdom
#16
World rank
51,315
Students
36%
Acceptance
740
Programmes
University of Edinburgh logo
#4

University of Edinburgh

Edinburgh, United Kingdom
#36
World rank
582
Programmes
Imperial College London Logo
#5

Imperial College London

London, United Kingdom
#38
World rank
268
Programmes
-
#6

Ruprecht Karls University Heidelberg

Heidelberg, Germany
#49
World rank
23
Programmes
E
#7

ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

Switzerland
#52
World rank
26,942
Students
8%
Acceptance
48
Programmes
University of Manchester logo
#8

University of Manchester

Manchester, United Kingdom
#54
World rank
754
Programmes
King's College London Logo
#9

King's College London

London, United Kingdom
#64
World rank
-
#10

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

München, Germany
#69
World rank
58,279
Students
55%
Acceptance
27
Programmes
University of Amsterdam (UvA)
#11

University of Amsterdam (UvA)

Amsterdam, Netherlands
#76
World rank
41,000
Students
51%
Acceptance
211
Programmes
Utrecht University
#12

Utrecht University

Utrecht, Netherlands
#78
World rank
38,493
Students
22%
Acceptance
112
Programmes
-
#13

Technical University of Munich

München, Germany
#85
World rank
66
Programmes
University of Glasgow Logo
#14

University of Glasgow

Glasgow, United Kingdom
#94
World rank
360
Programmes
Accomodation
#15

Lund University

Lund, Sweden
#95
World rank
46,000
Students
58%
Acceptance
132
Programmes
University of Bristol Logo
#16

University of Bristol

Bristol, United Kingdom
#96
World rank
402
Programmes
University of Leeds Logo
#17

University of Leeds

Leeds, United Kingdom
#99
World rank
302
Programmes
Accomodation
#18

Uppsala University

Uppsala, Sweden
#103
World rank
53,658
Students
69%
Acceptance
134
Programmes
Logo of Università di Bologna, Italy’s oldest university founded in 1088
#19

University of Bologna

Bologna, Italy
#104
World rank
95
Programmes
-
#20

University of Hamburg

Hamburg, Germany
#110
World rank
27
Programmes
University of Barcelona (UB)
#21

University of Barcelona (UB)

Barcelona, Spain
#116
World rank
62,272
Students
69%
Acceptance
43
Programmes
University of Groningen
#22

University of Groningen

Groningen, Netherlands
#118
World rank
33,000
Students
50%
Acceptance
193
Programmes
Logo of Sapienza University of Rome, one of Italy’s leading universities
#23

Sapienza University of Rome

Rome, Italy
#119
World rank
108,962
Students
39%
Acceptance
60
Programmes
University of Southampton Logo
#24

University of Southampton

Southampton, United Kingdom
#122
World rank
426
Programmes
Radboud University Nijmegen
#25

Radboud University Nijmegen

Nijmegen, Netherlands
#127
World rank
123
Programmes
-
#26

Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Tübingen, Germany
#128
World rank
31
Programmes
Logo of Free University of Berlin
#27

Free University of Berlin

Berlin, Germany
#131
World rank
20
Programmes
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)
#28

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Delft, Netherlands
#137
World rank
27,000
Students
50%
Acceptance
42
Programmes
University of Sheffield Logo
#29

University of Sheffield

Sheffield, United Kingdom
#138
World rank
284
Programmes
University of Warwick Logo
#30

University of Warwick

Coventry, United Kingdom
#140
World rank
27,880
Students
23%
Acceptance
365
Programmes
Official logo of University of Milan
#31

University of Milan

Milan, Italy
#146
World rank
39
Programmes
-
#32

Georg August University of Göttingen

Göttingen, Germany
#149
World rank
27,902
Students
34%
Acceptance
31
Programmes
Logo of Università di Padova, one of Italy’s oldest and leading universities
#33

University of Padua

Padua, Italy
#153
World rank
68
Programmes
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) logo
#34

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

London, United Kingdom
#154
World rank
187
Programmes
U
#35

University of Geneva

Switzerland
#155
World rank
18,241
Students
25%
Acceptance
41
Programmes
Logo of Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
#36

Humboldt University of Berlin

Berlin, Germany
#157
World rank
26
Programmes
Leiden University
#37

Leiden University

Leiden, Netherlands
#158
World rank
33,474
Students
30%
Acceptance
226
Programmes
-
#38

Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg im Breisgau

Freiburg, Germany
#161
World rank
23,938
Students
33%
Acceptance
24
Programmes
-
#39

University of Cologne

Köln, Germany
#168
World rank
35
Programmes
-
#40

Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen

Aachen, Germany
#171
World rank
47,521
Students
35%
Acceptance
32
Programmes
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam)
#41

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam)

Amsterdam, Netherlands
#188
World rank
31,548
Students
45%
Acceptance
218
Programmes
-
#42

Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg

Erlangen, Germany
#190
World rank
39
Programmes
-
#43

Technical University of Dresden

Dresden, Germany
#196
World rank
27
Programmes
-
#44

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Karlsruhe, Germany
#197
World rank
25,196
Students
26%
Acceptance
18
Programmes
-
#45

University of Münster

Münster, Germany
#200
World rank
43,728
Students
14%
Acceptance
30
Programmes
Wageningen University & Research
#46

Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen, Netherlands
#206
World rank
53
Programmes
-
#47

University of Leipzig

Leipzig, Germany
#208
World rank
27
Programmes
Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)
#48

Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)

Barcelona, Spain
#210
World rank
62
Programmes
University of Exeter Logo
#49

University of Exeter

Exeter, United Kingdom
#214
World rank
-
#50

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

Mainz, Germany
#215
World rank
31
Programmes
Official logo of the University of Turin
#51

University of Turin

Turin, Italy
#221
World rank
22
Programmes
T
#52

Technical University of Berlin

Berlin, Germany
#224
World rank
35,156
Students
23%
Acceptance
Erasmus University Rotterdam
#53

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Rotterdam, Netherlands
#231
World rank
34,240
Students
53%
Acceptance
110
Programmes
Logo of University of Pisa, one of Italy’s historic and leading universities
#54

University of Pisa

Pisa, Italy
#237
World rank
18
Programmes
-
#55

Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg

Würzburg, Germany
#239
World rank
18
Programmes
University of Valencia
#56

University of Valencia

Valencia, Spain
#240
World rank
46
Programmes
-
#57

Ruhr University Bochum

Bochum, Germany
#242
World rank
24
Programmes
Logo of Politecnico di Milano – university’s emblem showing “Politecnico Milano 1863
#58

Politecnico di Milano

Italy
#250
World rank
48
Programmes
Durham University logo
#59

Durham University

Durham, United Kingdom
#257
World rank
241
Programmes
Claude Bernard University Lyon 1
#60

Claude Bernard University Lyon 1

Lyon, France
#262
World rank
5
Programmes