Just like last year, in the latest "Times Higher Education" world university ranking, the University of Latvia (UL) and Riga Technical University (RTU) are ranked in the 1001–1200 group. The Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU) and Riga Stradiņš University (RSU) are ranked 1500+. Despite nearly 200 more universities being included in the ranking this year compared to last year, all Latvian universities have maintained their positions.
The top three spots in the ranking are held by the University of Oxford, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University.
From Estonia, the highest-ranked is the University of Tartu, in the 301–350 range. It is followed by Tallinn University of Technology (601–800), while Tallinn University, like RTU and UL, is in the 1001–1200 range.
In Lithuania, the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences is ranked highest, in the 801–1000 range. It is followed by Vilnius University (1001–1200), while Kaunas University of Technology, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, and Vytautas Magnus University are all in the 1201–1500 range.
UL improves its results through industry collaboration
This year, UL's performance in the ranking has significantly improved in several areas. In the "Industry Collaboration" category, UL has risen by 128 places, and in international collaboration, it has improved by 21 places.
"Industry collaboration is one of UL's three missions, which the new university management team has focused on strengthening. We have established the UL Development and Cooperation Center and the Innovation and Acceleration Center, which aim to expand cooperation with businesses and government in both research and innovation creation and commercialization. The high ranking in THE is a confirmation that we are moving in the right direction," emphasizes UL's pro-rector for development, Enno Ence.
In the evaluation of the research environment, UL is in 531st place, which is an increase of six places, while there is a slight decline in the quality of research activity.
In the "Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022," LU was in the 801–1000 range, and in 2021 it was in the 601–800 range.
RTU excels in internationalization and industry collaboration
Like last year, RTU is ranked in the 1001–1200 range in the international ranking "The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025." RTU's performance in international collaboration is rated the highest. The investment in internationalization has been evaluated based on the proportion of foreign students and faculty, as well as international research collaboration. The second highest rating for RTU is in industry collaboration, which considers the university's income from partnerships and the number of patents.
The quality of science in the ranking is assessed based on the citation of scientific publications, research quality, excellence, and impact, while the research environment is evaluated based on reputation, income from scientific performance, and productivity. In the assessment of studies, teaching reputation, the proportion of students to faculty, the ratio of doctoral to bachelor's students, the ratio of doctoral students to academic staff, and institutional income are taken into account.
In the "Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023," RTU was ranked in the 1201–1500 range.
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Gradual Improvement of Indicators
LBTU ranks in the 1501+ category of the rating. The university has achieved higher scores in the industry indicator, receiving 25.4 rating points, and in the international profile indicator, where it received 25 rating points, gradually improving upon last year's results.
In the overall indicator, LBTU has improved its position, receiving between 10.5 and 24.1 rating points, an increase compared to 2024, when it scored between 9.7 and 22.7 points.
Like this year, in the “Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023,” LBTU was in the 1501+ category. In 2021, the university was ranked 1201+.
One of the Most Influential Rankings
“Times Higher Education” has been creating university rankings since 2004 and is considered one of the most influential sources globally. It has become one of the most reliable sources of data for students, representatives of academic circles, university leaders, as well as government and industry representatives, helping to assess university performance on a global scale.
One prerequisite for inclusion in this ranking is intensive research, evaluated based on information compiled in the “Scopus” database by the publisher Elsevier. This considers both the impact of university research and the number of indexed publications, as well as international collaboration. Last year, the evaluation methodology underwent significant changes, emphasizing research excellence and incorporating indicators that assess the presence of scientific publications among the world’s most cited works, including patent citations.
Every year, the “Times Higher Education World University Rankings” includes new universities. The increasing competition makes it increasingly challenging for any institution to gain entry and maintain its position in the ranking. For example, last year, 1,904 universities from 108 countries were included in the ranking, and this year the number has already risen to 2,092.