The ELTE Faculty of Science is generally one of the highest-ranked Hungarian institutions in both international and national higher education rankings.

INTERNATIONALLY

In 2025, ELTE was again ranked in the 501–600 category in the ShanghaiRanking’s Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). Each year, the ranking evaluates 2,500 universities based on the number of publications and highly cited researchers, as well as the scientific awards received by former students and current staff. Only the top 1,000 universities make it onto the list. Four Hungarian institutions were included among the best universities worldwide, and Eötvös Loránd University, remaining in the 501–600 category, retained its second position in the national ranking. Out of the six indicators considered, ELTE performs the best among Hungarian universities in three of them: overall publication performance, publications in Nature and Science, and per capita academic performance.

The 2025 subject ranking of ShanghaiRanking (Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, GRAS) traditionally evaluates the performance of the world’s leading universities in five broad academic fields (Natural Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, and Social Sciences), and within these, 57 narrower subjects. Nearly 2,000 universities from almost 100 countries were included in the ranking. ELTE was ranked among the world’s best in seven subjects (Mathematics, Physics, Metallurgical Engineering, Biology, Veterinary Sciences, Education, and Psychology). Of these, it is considered the leading institution in Hungary in five fields, and in three subjects it is the only Hungarian university represented.

The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings published in June 2025 list the world’s top 1,500 universities, including ten higher education institutions from Hungary. With its position at 584th, ELTE ranks second among Hungarian universities. Our university improved its performance in indicators related to internationalization, such as research collaborations and the proportion of international students. In the overall European ranking, ELTE outperformed institutions such as the University of Siena, the University of Zaragoza, and the University of Zagreb. Among ELTE’s CHARM-EU partner universities, Trinity College Dublin placed 75th, Utrecht University 103rd, and the University of Barcelona 160th in the global rankings.

The 2025 subject ranking of Quacquarelli Symonds is the organization’s most extensive list to date, featuring 171 new institutions compared to the previous year. The compilation evaluated around 21,000 university programs from 1,700 higher education institutions across 100 countries, covering five broad academic fields and 55 narrower subject areas. In eight of the 55 subject areas, ELTE was the only Hungarian university ranked among the world’s best, with Linguistics and Archaeology achieving an outstanding position in the 151–200 range. Among the five broad academic fields, ELTE appears in the rankings for Arts & Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences & Management. In the first two fields, the university is the top-performing institution in Hungary.

In the European ranking published by Quacquarelli Symonds in July 2024, 15 Hungarian universities were included. Eötvös Loránd University improved its position by 18 places compared to the previous year, achieving 190th place. With this result, following its performance in QS’s global rankings, ELTE was also ranked as the best university in Hungary in the regional list. In the indicator measuring graduate employability, ELTE is among the top 100 universities in Europe, ranking 68th. The methodology of the assessment places particular emphasis on internationalization and mobility, which are considered key European values. Accordingly, a new indicator on international student diversity was introduced as part of the evaluation.

Responding to the growing importance of environmental protection, Quacquarelli Symonds launched its own Sustainability Rankings in 2022, assessing universities based on sustainability criteria. In 2025, the evaluation included more than 2,000 institutions, of which 620 are from Europe and 14 from Hungary. ELTE ranked 377th globally and 170th in Europe, maintaining its position as the third-best Hungarian university in the sustainability ranking, following the University of Debrecen (322nd) and the University of Szeged (338th).

In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (WUR), published in October 2025 and featuring more than 1,500 universities, Eötvös Loránd University once again placed in the 801–1000 category. With this result, ELTE remains the third-ranked Hungarian institution—tied with the University of Debrecen (801–1000)—following Semmelweis University (251–300) and Óbuda University (601–800). The ranking is based on 18 indicators grouped into four key pillars: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.

In the Times Higher Education subject rankings for 2025, ELTE ranks first among Hungarian universities in the fields of Arts & Humanities, Psychology, and Life Sciences, and shares first place in Law and Physical Sciences. The rankings are based on the methodology of the THE World University Rankings, with the key difference that each subject area is assessed according to its specific characteristics. Eötvös Loránd University is featured in 8 out of the 11 subject areas evaluated: Psychology, Law, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Arts & Humanities, Education, Social Sciences, and Computer Science.

Eötvös Loránd University performed particularly well in the equality-related indicators of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings published in June 2025, which assess universities worldwide based on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Among the 2,526 ranked institutions, ELTE was placed in the 601–800 category, ranking fifth among Hungarian universities. Within the domestic field, ELTE leads in the indicator measuring the reduction of inequalities and shares first place with the University of Szeged in the indicator related to gender equality.

ELTE has been the leading Hungarian university in the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) global list since 2014. In 2025, the ranking evaluated more than 21,000 institutions worldwide based on the quality of education, graduate employability, academic excellence, the number of high–quality publications, and citation performance. Eötvös Loránd University advanced 36 places compared to the previous year, ranking 508th globally and 196th in Europe, placing the institution among the top 2.4% of universities worldwide.

ELTE was also ranked as the best Hungarian higher education institution in the U.S. News & World Report global rankings published in August 2024, placing 485th worldwide. The university achieved strong results in 11 subject rankings: it ranked 129th in Psychology, 135th in Space Science, and 155th in Physics. In addition, according to U.S. News, ELTE is the top Hungarian institution in four further fields: Mathematics, Geosciences, Plant & Animal Science, and Social Sciences. Beyond these subjects, ELTE was also included among the world’s top universities in Biology and Biochemistry, Environment/Ecology, Chemistry, and Clinical Medicine.

In June 2015, Eötvös Loránd University became the first full member from Hungary of the Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence (IREG), an international organization that brings together the compilers of national and global higher education rankings. IREG is a nonprofit association dedicated to ranking-related research and the promotion of quality in higher education. Full membership is granted to organizations that demonstrate outstanding activity in the development, research, and analysis of academic rankings.

 

IN HUNGARY

In the university ranking published by HVG in November 2024, Eötvös Loránd University continues to lead the list of student excellence. In the academic excellence ranking, it placed fifth, due to the dynamic growth in student numbers not being matched by a proportional increase in qualified academic staff. As a result, the student-to-faculty ratio rose from 16 to 20. Among university faculties, ELTE’s Faculty of Science maintains its top position, while the Faculty of Humanities ranks fifth overall.