Top 100 Universities in Europe by Highly Cited Research
Europe is the CWTS geographic filter. It includes the UK and Switzerland and is broader than the EU.
European university comparisons work best when the study route and ranking measure are clear. This guide lists 100 institutions under one CWTS Leiden Open Edition 2025 research filter. The ordering uses highly cited research volume rather than undergraduate teaching or tuition. The data window is 2020–2023. Students can compare country, publication volume and highly cited share before checking the intended programme. A single continental table cannot establish the same fee, recognition or immigration rules for every destination.
The complete 100-entry table
100 of 100 entries shown
| No. | Institution and source | Location | Type / status | Recorded information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University College London | United Kingdom | University | P=22410; P(top 10%)=3618; PP(top 10%)=16.1% |
| 2 | University of Oxford | United Kingdom | University | P=19249; P(top 10%)=3498; PP(top 10%)=18.2% |
| 3 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom | University | P=16246; P(top 10%)=2916; PP(top 10%)=17.9% |
| 4 | Imperial College London | United Kingdom | University | P=15419; P(top 10%)=2738; PP(top 10%)=17.8% |
| 5 | University of Copenhagen | Denmark | University | P=16518; P(top 10%)=2072; PP(top 10%)=12.5% |
| 6 | ETH Zürich | Switzerland | University | P=10983; P(top 10%)=2024; PP(top 10%)=18.4% |
| 7 | Katholieke Universiteit Leuven | Belgium | University | P=14812; P(top 10%)=1978; PP(top 10%)=13.4% |
| 8 | King's College London | United Kingdom | University | P=11999; P(top 10%)=1841; PP(top 10%)=15.3% |
| 9 | Utrecht University | Netherlands | University | P=11562; P(top 10%)=1793; PP(top 10%)=15.5% |
| 10 | The University of Manchester | United Kingdom | University | P=11746; P(top 10%)=1632; PP(top 10%)=13.9% |
| 11 | Université de Paris-Cité (EPE) | France | University | P=12286; P(top 10%)=1632; PP(top 10%)=13.3% |
| 12 | The University of Edinburgh | United Kingdom | University | P=10977; P(top 10%)=1614; PP(top 10%)=14.7% |
| 13 | University of Zurich | Switzerland | University | P=10862; P(top 10%)=1585; PP(top 10%)=14.6% |
| 14 | University of Groningen | Netherlands | University | P=10821; P(top 10%)=1558; PP(top 10%)=14.4% |
| 15 | Sapienza University of Rome | Italy | University | P=13937; P(top 10%)=1551; PP(top 10%)=11.1% |
| 16 | Ghent University | Belgium | University | P=12466; P(top 10%)=1523; PP(top 10%)=12.2% |
| 17 | Karolinska Institutet | Sweden | University | P=9737; P(top 10%)=1455; PP(top 10%)=14.9% |
| 18 | University of Padova | Italy | University | P=12242; P(top 10%)=1452; PP(top 10%)=11.9% |
| 19 | University of Naples Federico II | Italy | University | P=10891; P(top 10%)=1411; PP(top 10%)=13.0% |
| 20 | Technical University of Munich | Germany | University | P=11857; P(top 10%)=1345; PP(top 10%)=11.3% |
| 21 | Erasmus University Rotterdam | Netherlands | University | P=8838; P(top 10%)=1344; PP(top 10%)=15.2% |
| 22 | Heidelberg University | Germany | University | P=9994; P(top 10%)=1302; PP(top 10%)=13.0% |
| 23 | Leiden University | Netherlands | University | P=8449; P(top 10%)=1298; PP(top 10%)=15.4% |
| 24 | Delft University of Technology | Netherlands | University | P=9089; P(top 10%)=1284; PP(top 10%)=14.1% |
| 25 | University of Nottingham | United Kingdom | University | P=10404; P(top 10%)=1280; PP(top 10%)=12.3% |
| 26 | University of Amsterdam | Netherlands | University | P=8063; P(top 10%)=1279; PP(top 10%)=15.9% |
| 27 | University of Birmingham | United Kingdom | University | P=8567; P(top 10%)=1272; PP(top 10%)=14.8% |
| 28 | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München | Germany | University | P=9539; P(top 10%)=1268; PP(top 10%)=13.3% |
| 29 | University of Bologna | Italy | University | P=11433; P(top 10%)=1268; PP(top 10%)=11.1% |
| 30 | Radboud University | Netherlands | University | P=8516; P(top 10%)=1257; PP(top 10%)=14.8% |
| 31 | University of Milan | Italy | University | P=10640; P(top 10%)=1249; PP(top 10%)=11.7% |
| 32 | University of Oslo | Norway | University | P=9871; P(top 10%)=1197; PP(top 10%)=12.1% |
| 33 | Aarhus University | Denmark | University | P=10138; P(top 10%)=1192; PP(top 10%)=11.8% |
| 34 | Lund University | Sweden | University | P=9978; P(top 10%)=1150; PP(top 10%)=11.5% |
| 35 | University of Helsinki | Finland | University | P=9670; P(top 10%)=1145; PP(top 10%)=11.8% |
| 36 | Université Paris-Saclay (EPE) | France | University | P=10562; P(top 10%)=1137; PP(top 10%)=10.8% |
| 37 | Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne | Switzerland | University | P=6529; P(top 10%)=1126; PP(top 10%)=17.2% |
| 38 | Sorbonne University | France | University | P=9362; P(top 10%)=1123; PP(top 10%)=12.0% |
| 39 | University of Leeds | United Kingdom | University | P=8010; P(top 10%)=1121; PP(top 10%)=14.0% |
| 40 | University of Bristol | United Kingdom | University | P=7749; P(top 10%)=1099; PP(top 10%)=14.2% |
| 41 | University of Glasgow | United Kingdom | University | P=7294; P(top 10%)=1086; PP(top 10%)=14.9% |
| 42 | Norwegian University of Science and Technology | Norway | University | P=9071; P(top 10%)=1048; PP(top 10%)=11.6% |
| 43 | University of Bern | Switzerland | University | P=7634; P(top 10%)=1031; PP(top 10%)=13.5% |
| 44 | University of Liverpool | United Kingdom | University | P=8112; P(top 10%)=1027; PP(top 10%)=12.7% |
| 45 | The University of Sheffield | United Kingdom | University | P=7730; P(top 10%)=1022; PP(top 10%)=13.2% |
| 46 | Universität Hamburg | Germany | University | P=8512; P(top 10%)=1015; PP(top 10%)=11.9% |
| 47 | University of Porto | Portugal | University | P=10302; P(top 10%)=1005; PP(top 10%)=9.8% |
| 48 | Uppsala University | Sweden | University | P=8595; P(top 10%)=1001; PP(top 10%)=11.7% |
| 49 | Universidade de Lisboa | Portugal | University | P=10373; P(top 10%)=972; PP(top 10%)=9.4% |
| 50 | University of Florence | Italy | University | P=8452; P(top 10%)=937; PP(top 10%)=11.1% |
| 51 | RWTH Aachen University | Germany | University | P=9655; P(top 10%)=933; PP(top 10%)=9.7% |
| 52 | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | Netherlands | University | P=5831; P(top 10%)=932; PP(top 10%)=16.0% |
| 53 | University of Turin | Italy | University | P=7542; P(top 10%)=931; PP(top 10%)=12.3% |
| 54 | Wageningen University & Research | Netherlands | University | P=6527; P(top 10%)=931; PP(top 10%)=14.3% |
| 55 | Politecnico di Milano | Italy | University | P=9106; P(top 10%)=931; PP(top 10%)=10.2% |
| 56 | University of Gothenburg | Sweden | University | P=7499; P(top 10%)=923; PP(top 10%)=12.3% |
| 57 | University of Southampton | United Kingdom | University | P=6999; P(top 10%)=909; PP(top 10%)=13.0% |
| 58 | University of Geneva | Switzerland | University | P=6451; P(top 10%)=893; PP(top 10%)=13.8% |
| 59 | Maastricht University | Netherlands | University | P=6559; P(top 10%)=872; PP(top 10%)=13.3% |
| 60 | University of Barcelona | Spain | University | P=7908; P(top 10%)=870; PP(top 10%)=11.0% |
| 61 | University of Basel | Switzerland | University | P=5994; P(top 10%)=868; PP(top 10%)=14.5% |
| 62 | Technical University of Denmark | Denmark | University | P=6934; P(top 10%)=863; PP(top 10%)=12.4% |
| 63 | University of Pisa | Italy | University | P=7432; P(top 10%)=858; PP(top 10%)=11.5% |
| 64 | University of Exeter | United Kingdom | University | P=5365; P(top 10%)=854; PP(top 10%)=15.9% |
| 65 | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens | Greece | University | P=7766; P(top 10%)=854; PP(top 10%)=11.0% |
| 66 | Freie Universität Berlin | Germany | University | P=6527; P(top 10%)=852; PP(top 10%)=13.0% |
| 67 | Newcastle University | United Kingdom | University | P=6244; P(top 10%)=831; PP(top 10%)=13.3% |
| 68 | Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg | Germany | University | P=7686; P(top 10%)=816; PP(top 10%)=10.6% |
| 69 | Queen Mary University of London | United Kingdom | University | P=5071; P(top 10%)=811; PP(top 10%)=16.0% |
| 70 | University College Dublin | Ireland | University | P=6370; P(top 10%)=805; PP(top 10%)=12.6% |
| 71 | The University of Warwick | United Kingdom | University | P=5862; P(top 10%)=783; PP(top 10%)=13.4% |
| 72 | Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Germany | University | P=5947; P(top 10%)=780; PP(top 10%)=13.1% |
| 73 | University of Freiburg | Germany | University | P=6176; P(top 10%)=774; PP(top 10%)=12.5% |
| 74 | University of Lausanne | Switzerland | University | P=5475; P(top 10%)=760; PP(top 10%)=13.9% |
| 75 | Cardiff University | United Kingdom | University | P=6006; P(top 10%)=753; PP(top 10%)=12.5% |
| 76 | Karlsruhe Institute of Technology | Germany | University | P=8058; P(top 10%)=728; PP(top 10%)=9.0% |
| 77 | Technische Universität Dresden | Germany | University | P=7226; P(top 10%)=717; PP(top 10%)=9.9% |
| 78 | Georg-August-Universität Göttingen | Germany | University | P=5340; P(top 10%)=704; PP(top 10%)=13.2% |
| 79 | University of Granada | Spain | University | P=6938; P(top 10%)=701; PP(top 10%)=10.1% |
| 80 | University of Vienna | Austria | University | P=5534; P(top 10%)=700; PP(top 10%)=12.6% |
| 81 | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki | Greece | University | P=7548; P(top 10%)=695; PP(top 10%)=9.2% |
| 82 | University of Valencia | Spain | University | P=6587; P(top 10%)=687; PP(top 10%)=10.4% |
| 83 | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona | Spain | University | P=6516; P(top 10%)=685; PP(top 10%)=10.5% |
| 84 | University of Bonn | Germany | University | P=5754; P(top 10%)=678; PP(top 10%)=11.8% |
| 85 | Aalborg University | Denmark | University | P=5970; P(top 10%)=672; PP(top 10%)=11.3% |
| 86 | Medical University of Vienna | Austria | University | P=5440; P(top 10%)=670; PP(top 10%)=12.3% |
| 87 | University of Bari Aldo Moro | Italy | University | P=5074; P(top 10%)=669; PP(top 10%)=13.2% |
| 88 | Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin | Ireland | University | P=5196; P(top 10%)=669; PP(top 10%)=12.9% |
| 89 | University of Münster | Germany | University | P=5518; P(top 10%)=663; PP(top 10%)=12.0% |
| 90 | University of Cologne | Germany | University | P=5604; P(top 10%)=661; PP(top 10%)=11.8% |
| 91 | Goethe University Frankfurt | Germany | University | P=5605; P(top 10%)=658; PP(top 10%)=11.7% |
| 92 | University of Seville | Spain | University | P=7069; P(top 10%)=654; PP(top 10%)=9.3% |
| 93 | University of Southern Denmark | Denmark | University | P=5884; P(top 10%)=654; PP(top 10%)=11.1% |
| 94 | Complutense University of Madrid | Spain | University | P=7481; P(top 10%)=651; PP(top 10%)=8.7% |
| 95 | Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen | Germany | University | P=5723; P(top 10%)=651; PP(top 10%)=11.4% |
| 96 | Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore | Italy | University | P=5070; P(top 10%)=647; PP(top 10%)=12.8% |
| 97 | Universidad Autónoma de Madrid | Spain | University | P=5787; P(top 10%)=638; PP(top 10%)=11.0% |
| 98 | Politecnico di Torino | Italy | University | P=6037; P(top 10%)=633; PP(top 10%)=10.5% |
| 99 | Charles University | Czechia | University | P=7488; P(top 10%)=632; PP(top 10%)=8.4% |
| 100 | Université PSL | France | University | P=4717; P(top 10%)=617; PP(top 10%)=13.1% |
List numbers are navigation identifiers except where the stated research/completion ordering or published NIRF rank is explained. Download the complete CSV.
Sources and selection method
All sciences; Europe; 2020–2023; fractional counting; core publications only; minimum P=1000; descending P(top 10%).
One research-volume measure. No teaching, fees, employment or overall university rank.
Source: CWTS Leiden Ranking Open Edition 2025. Source records checked 2026-10-01. Current admissions, courses and fees require the institution’s own current evidence. Each row links to its source.
Read the geographic scope
Europe and the European Union are different comparisons. The UK and Switzerland appear in the research filter alongside EU and other European jurisdictions. Fee status can depend on nationality and residence. Admission routes and qualification recognition are country specific. Students need the actual official rules for the destination rather than a broad promise about European study. The CWTS indicator normalizes citations by field and year. It does not measure classroom support or cost.
Verify the language and degree structure
An English course title does not establish English teaching in every module. Clinical work and placements can have additional language requirements. Students need to record the award, duration, required credits and thesis or placement. A postgraduate application can require specific undergraduate subjects. The receiving institution or relevant regulator decides recognition. A research table cannot guarantee that a degree meets those requirements. The exact curriculum and current entry conditions need their own checks.
Compare funding with consistent assumptions
Written fee schedules need the year and applicant category. Housing, deposits, health cover and travel complete the budget. Competitive awards are different from automatic reductions. Renewal can depend on progress or a fresh application. A family budget needs to work without an unconfirmed award. Students can keep the original currency and use a dated exchange rate in their worksheet. Lower tuition does not automatically mean a lower total cost.
Follow the actual application route
Some programmes use a national portal. Others accept direct or departmental applications. The current official course page identifies the route and deadline. Transcripts, translations, references and language evidence need time to prepare. After an offer, students need acceptance, deposit and refund terms. Accommodation can be guaranteed, available to apply for or supplied externally. Those are different offers. The useful shortlist records why the exact course fits the applicant’s academic and financial plans.
Decision checklist
- Choose a destination and course
- Confirm the teaching language
- Read the final award
- Check scholarship renewal
- Use the official application route
Shortlist worksheet
For three feasible options, record the exact programme or year group, current eligibility, full cost, support provision, travel and the official evidence date. Leave a missing answer unresolved instead of estimating it.
Questions before you decide
Are all entries in the EU?
No. The CWTS Europe filter includes the UK, Switzerland and other European countries.
Is the ordering based on teaching?
No. It is a defined research-volume order.
Are all courses in English?
No. The specific programme and professional components need language checks.
Are these the cheapest universities?
No. Affordability is outside the indicator.
Who confirms qualification recognition?
The receiving academic institution or relevant professional recognition authority.
Related guides
- Top 100 Universities Worldwide by Highly Cited Research
- Top 100 Large US Finance Programs: Data and Admissions Guide
Compiled by VisitBest from the stated public sources. Current course, admission, service and price details should be obtained from the relevant provider. Send corrections with the exact record and a supporting source.