JMI Emerges as Highest-Ranked Central University in India

  

JMI Emerges as Highest-Ranked Central University in India and Third Among All Indian Institutions in THE World University Rankings 2026; Advances to 401–500 Band

Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has emerged as the highest-ranked Central University and the third-highest-ranked institution in India, achieving a position in the 401–500 band in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026, announced on October 9, 2025.

In a spectacular show of its research and teaching excellence, JMI has improved its standing, moving up from the 501–600 band last year to the 401–500 band in the 22nd edition of the THE World University Rankings featuring 2,191 universities from 115 countries and territories. JMI has been ranked third across the country, next only to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, which stood first, followed by the Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai. This makes JMI the only Central University in India to be placed in the coveted 401-500 band of the international ranking.

Elated at the rankings, JMI Vice Chancellor Prof. Mazhar Asif and Registrar Prof. Md. Mahtab Alam Rizvi congratulated the entire JMI fraternity and especially the IQAC team on the remarkable achievement. They said, “This impressive performance is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and collective efforts of our faculty, students, researchers, alumni, non-teaching staff, and our robust industry-academia linkages, all of which have contributed immensely to academic excellence, internationalization, and our visible global relevance.” They added, “JMI’s focus on cutting-edge research, interdisciplinary pedagogy, and global collaboration is yielding concrete outcomes. We are confident that JMI will continue to progress and break into the top 200 band in the near future.”

Extending commendation and appreciation on this spectacular performance, Prof. Asif and Prof. Rizvi further said, "JMI has undertaken continuous and sustained efforts to strengthen its teaching and research profile through enhanced faculty development and research training programs, increased resource allocation, and cultivating an academic environment where excellence in research is valued."  "JMI’s performance in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) India Ranking 2025 released in September 2025 was equally outstanding and further testifies to our concerted efforts in improving and enhancing our research and teaching quality. The university remains steadfast in its commitment to continuing this journey of scholarly distinction and intellectual rigor, aligned with India’s vision of creating world-class universities,” they added.

In the THE World University Rankings 2026, institutions have been ranked on the basis of 18 performance indicators across five areas—teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook, and industry impact.