Internationally renowned university, University of Tartu, secures a spot among the world's leading academic institutions.
University of Tartu Slips in World University Rankings
The University of Tartu, Estonia's oldest and largest university, has experienced a drop in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2024. The institution, which was previously ranked among the 201-250 universities, has now been placed in the 301-350 band.
Despite the strategic goal of moving closer to the top 100 universities, announced in 2020, the University of Tartu's ranking has taken a hit due to fluctuations in key ranking metrics related to research impact and internationalization.
According to the European Innovation Scoreboard 2025, Estonia's research performance indicators show some mixed trends. The number of scientific publications among the top 10% most cited decreased by 7.9% between 2024 and 2025. Given that THE rankings highly weight research impact and citations, this decline could directly affect the University of Tartu’s ranking.
Moreover, international scientific co-publications had a slight decrease (-0.2%) in the same period. International collaboration is another important factor for THE rankings, so a stagnation or decline could contribute to slipping down the list.
Other innovation and research-related metrics show overall improvement for Estonia from 2018 to 2025, but some short-term declines in critical indicators like attractive research systems (-2.6%) could negatively impact rankings in the most recent evaluation year.
The University of Tartu, which plays a significant role in driving inclusive and sustainable growth and innovation at local, European, and global levels, has yet to comment on a possible reason for its slip in the rankings this year.
Meanwhile, other prestigious universities have maintained their positions. Harvard University (US) is ranked fourth, while Stanford University (US) is second, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US) is third, and the University of Cambridge (UK) is fifth in the THE World University Rankings 2024.
Tallinn University, Tallinn University of Technology, and other Estonian public universities have also faced funding challenges, with all institutions complaining about the lack of funding recently.
The University of Tartu remains a member of prestigious research university networks and EU research and innovation partnerships, and it continues to actively participate in European science policy formulation. Despite the recent drop in the rankings, the University of Tartu's strategic ambition to move closer to the top 100 universities remains unchanged.
- The decline in the number of scientific publications among the top 10% most cited in Estonia between 2024 and 2025, as shown by the European Innovation Scoreboard 2025, could directly impact the University of Tartu's ranking in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings due to the weight given to research impact and citations.
- International scientific co-publications in Estonia had a slight decrease (-0.2%) between 2024 and 2025, which could contribute to the University of Tartu's slipping down the list in the THE World University Rankings, as international collaboration is another important ranking factor.
- Despite facing funding challenges, similar to those experienced by Tallinn University and Tallinn University of Technology, the University of Tartu remains committed to its strategic ambition of moving closer to the top 100 universities, even after its drop in the THE World University Rankings 2024.
