Penn State landed at No. 81 in Time Magazine’s 2026 list of the World’s Top Universities, earning a spot among the top 100 institutions in the publication’s global rankings.

The report evaluated 500 universities worldwide and relies heavily on Time’s proprietary research and big data analysis, examining the academic and career outcomes of millions of students. According to the organization, the rankings aim to identify where students are most likely to “achieve the greatest success,” highlighting schools that not only enroll talented students but also actively “change their life trajectories.”

Penn State posted a total score of 64.55, bolstered by a 71.31 in Academic Capacity & Performance, 63.80 in Global Engagement, and 51.31 in Innovation & Economic Impact.

The university was one of three Pennsylvania universities ranked in the top 100, joining the University of Pennsylvania (No. 10) and Carnegie Mellon University (No. 38). Penn State ranked No. 1 among public Pennsylvania universities.

Folks interested in exploring the full list can view the complete rankings on Time’s website.

About the Author

Jack Anderson-Jussen

Jack was an accounting and finance student at Penn State from 2022-2026 and served as one Onward State's visual editors during his senior year. He's hopefully employed, making lemonade out of life's lemons and doing what he can to make the world a better place.

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