The Center for World University Rankings, the QS World University Rankings and the U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities highlight Texas Tech’s stature.

Texas Tech University’s status as a premier institution of higher education has been reaffirmed by three of the leading university ranking entities in the world.

The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) has placed Texas Tech among the top 2.3% of institutions of higher education in the world, ranking No. 491 out of more than 21,000 colleges and universities, and No. 122 in the U.S., in its latest 2025 Global 2,000 List ranking for 2025. 

The 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings, released June 19 by global higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds, ranks Texas Tech No. 731-740 in the world, an increase of 50 positions from a year ago.

Finally, the 2025-26 edition of the U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities rankings puts Texas Tech at No. 568 out of the top 2,250 ranked institutions from 105 countries, an increase of 33 spots from last year. 

Texas Tech also ranked No. 116 among U.S. academic (non-medical) institutions and ahead of regional peers such as Oklahoma State University, Kansas State University, the University of Alabama, the University of Arkansas, Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University and the University of North Texas.

“These recognitions reflect the collective commitment of our faculty, staff and students to advancing Texas Tech’s academic and research mission,” said Lawrence Schovanec, president of Texas Tech University. “Our rise in these rankings underscores the growing impact of the work being done across our campus and around the world. We’re proud of this progress and remain focused on further strengthening our academic excellence.”

It marks the eighth straight year for Texas Tech to be included in the CWUR rankings, which also ranked Texas Tech No. 467 in the world in research performance and No. 562 in alumni employment. It is the third straight year for Texas Tech’s ranking to increase in the QS World University Rankings.

The CWUR is a leading consulting organization providing policy advice, strategic insights and consulting services to governments and universities to improve educational and research outcomes. It publishes authoritative global university rankings which are trusted by students, academics, university administrators and government officials around the world and known for objectivity, transparency and consistency.

The CWUR uses four objective indicators to rank the world’s universities:

• Quality of education, which is measured by the number of university alumni who have won major academic distinctions relative to the university’s size (25%)
• Alumni employment, which is measured by the number of university alumni who have held top executive positions at the world’s largest companies (25%)
• Academic distinction of faculty (10%)
• Research performance, including output (10%), high-quality publications (10%), influence (10%) and citations (10%)

Two years ago, QS implemented the largest methodological enhancements since its inception, introducing three new metrics: sustainability, employment outcomes and internal research network. The weights of some existing indicators also were adjusted, namely academic reputation, employer reputation and faculty-student ratio. Other factors included international faculty and international students.

Of the 192 institutions in the U.S. evaluated for these rankings, Texas Tech earned its highest marks in the number of international faculty (31), sustainability (68), employer reputation (72) and international research work (95).

This year’s QS World University Rankings evaluated more than 1,500 universities worldwide across 106 higher education systems. The rankings also expanded the number of institutions considered in their research indicators by more than 65%, allowing for more accurate and inclusive results.

The U.S. News & World Report rankings employ Clarivate, a leading global provider of transformative intelligence through enriched data, insights and analytics, to determine the top universities, a list that is then pared down to the top 2,250 schools used for rankings. It utilizes indicators such as global and regional research reputations, number of publications among the top 10% most cited, international collaboration, and more.

Texas Tech’s best marks came in Space Science (155), Agricultural Sciences (216), Plant & Animal Science (220) and Physics (299). Texas Tech also increased 54 spots in Engineering and 33 spots in Computer Science.