QS World University Rankings 2027: USI is the fastest-growing Swiss university

Università della Svizzera italiana continues to strengthen its presence on the international academic stage. In the 2027 QS World University Rankings, it has climbed 17 places from 2026 to rank 456th, recording the largest improvement among all Swiss universities featured in the league table.

Indeed, the progress achieved by USI outpaces that of the other Swiss higher education institutions that improved their standing: the University of Zurich climbed two places and the University of Basel eight, while the other institutions largely maintained their positions from the previous year or experienced a slight decline. Among the indicators that contributed most to this result, "Citations per Faculty"—which measures research impact through scientific citations—stands out. The expansion of the number of universities considered by QS has intensified global competition for citations, making this indicator increasingly difficult to improve. Despite this, USI gained 20 places, reaching 414th in the world, confirming the growing visibility and relevance of its scientific output.

Internationalisation indicators, for their part, recorded a slight decline compared to 2026. USI dropped six places in the "International Students" indicator and two in the "International Faculty" indicator, positioning itself at 16th and 35th globally, respectively. While continuing to achieve the maximum score under the QS methodology, the university saw its relative ranking in these two categories decrease marginally, particularly given the growing internationalisation of other institutions.

As Gabriele Balbi, Interim Rector, points out: "This is a modest rise, but one that confirms USI's growing stability on the international academic stage. I am particularly pleased to see progress in the Citations per Faculty indicator, as it effectively means that USI researchers are increasingly recognised and cited internationally. It is an indication of the high impact of the research carried out at our university. However, I remain of the view that rankings should always be read with caution, as they are influenced by methodologies and variations that are often highly sensitive to even minor discrepancies. It should also be remembered that these comparative exercises involve a global university system comprising thousands of institutions, with new universities entering the league tables every year, inevitably affecting relative positions. In this context, the fact that USI firmly confirms its place among the best Swiss universities and is currently the institution recording the greatest advancement in the country is certainly a source of satisfaction—though we must not forget that no single ranking can capture the full complexity and impact of a university."

This result represents the third piece of positive news on the international rankings front in recent months. In March, USI achieved encouraging results in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, while last autumn it moved up a band in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026. Taken together, these results confirm the university's consolidation in terms of research, education, and international reputation.