Vilnius University (VU) has risen by more than 30 positions in the new QS University Ranking. VU now ranks 439th and remains the clear leader in Lithuania. This year's rankings include an unprecedented number of higher education institutions – more than 5,000 – all over the world.
The employability ranking of VU graduates has also improved at a record pace, rising by 220 positions to 105th place compared to last year's figures. This indicator reflects the ability of institutions to ensure a high level of graduate employability and their impact on their professional fields. In addition, the faculty-student ratio gained an exceptionally high score, reaching 168th place in this category. This indicator is associated with a higher level of lecturer attention to the student.
‘I am proud that the University has managed to strengthen its position in the world rankings. It is particularly pleasing to note the significant progress we have made in graduate employability rates and the exceptionally good faculty-student ratio. This shows that our commitment to creating a personal, warm relationship in the community is also reflected by the success in the rankings', says Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas, the Rector of Vilnius University.
VU is also among the world's most sustainable universities. In the recently launched QS sustainability ranking, VU has risen by 176 places to 471th position.
In addition to sustainability, VU scores well on indicators such as academic reputation, employer reputation, employability ranking, faculty-student ratio, and international research network compared to other national higher education institutions.
The international research network indicator, a relatively new criterion in the rankings, introduced in 2022, reflects the number and quality of individual international partners (higher education institutions) from different countries. In this category, VU is ranked 398th globally.
VU is in 405th place in the employer reputation category. This indicator represents how international employers value the institution’s graduates. VU also maintains a high position (472nd place) in terms of academic reputation. The reputation of institutions and their programmes is assessed by asking external academic experts to nominate universities in their field.
The QS World University Rankings assess higher education institutions on a total of eight criteria: academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty, faculty-student ratio, international faculty ratio, international research network, international students ratio, and sustainability.
In 2024, QS University Ranking included 5,663 institutions from 106 countries around the world, with 21 institutions ranked for the first time.