The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE WUR) evaluate 18 indicators across five core pillars: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook. In the 2026 edition, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) achieved its highest results in industry (75.8 points out of 100) and international outlook (61.7 points). Among the specific indicators, the University excelled in patents (98.5 out of 100) and studying abroad (98.4).

In the overall ranking, the UPC remains in the 601–800 band out of 2,191 institutions analysed. At the European level, the University has risen to the 255–324 band and, in Spain, it is now the leader among Spanish technical universities alongside the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV).

To be included in the ranking, universities must meet several criteria: offer undergraduate degrees; have published over 1,000 papers indexed in Scopus during the analysed five-year period (2020–2024), with at least 100 per year; and ensure that no more than 80% of their research output is concentrated in a single one of the 11 subject areas assessed.

Further information

• THE World University Rakings
• UPC Rankings Observatory