Radboud University, Nijmegen Ranking 2026 from QS, THE & US NEWS

Radboud University Overall Rankings 2026

Radboud University carries a verified overall rank on five separate global tables in the current cycle, with its strongest single-body number sitting in ARWU at #130 worldwide. The gap between its best body (ARWU) and its weakest (QS) stretches to 153 places.

Four of the five bodies place Radboud inside the global top 160, while QS lands at #283. The 153-place spread points to a university that scores higher on research-driven tables (ARWU and US News use citation and publication metrics) than on QS, which weights reputation surveys at roughly 45 percent.

Key insight: The five-body average rank for Radboud works out to roughly #171, which lands 112 places ahead of its QS number alone and tells Indian applicants not to read the QS rank in isolation.

Radboud University Rankings: Bottom Line for Indian Students

For Indian applicants, the rank that matters most depends on the program. Psychology and Linguistics applicants benefit from THE and QS subject ranks inside the global top 100, while general MS applicants will see a QS overall rank that sits below the top Dutch peers.

Radboud University QS World University Rankings 2027

Radboud University is ranked =#283 in QS World University Rankings 2027, its weakest position inside the QS five-year window. The university has slipped 61 places since QS 2024 (#=222), the steepest drop on any ranking body it features on. QS, which scores universities mainly on academic reputation, employer opinion and research citations per faculty, weights reputation surveys heavily, and Radboud’s narrower brand outside Europe is the likely drag.

The five-year average QS rank works out to roughly #258, with the 2024 figure of #=222 standing as the only entry inside the top 250 across this window. The 61-place slide from 2024 to 2027 means Indian applicants comparing Radboud’s 2024 brand value to 2027 should reset expectations to the current band.

Note: The QS slide does not appear on THE or ARWU, where Radboud has stayed inside #100 to #154 over the same five years. The drop reads as a reputation-survey effect, not a research-quality effect, so degree value for graduates is largely unaffected.

Collegedunia Study Abroad Rankings of Radboud University

Collegedunia Study Abroad ranking of Radboud University places it at #148 globally and #11 in the Netherlands in 2026. The Collegedunia rank is built around relevance for Indian degree-seeking students, weighing English-taught program supply, post-study visa friendliness, scholarship availability and Indian alumni footprint.

The Collegedunia rank sits 135 places above the QS rank for Radboud, putting it in line with where ARWU and US News land. The Netherlands position at #11 of 13 puts Radboud in the lower half of Dutch universities on the Collegedunia table, which Indian applicants should weigh against its top-40 Psychology subject strength on THE.

India-relevance: Radboud’s CD-to-QS gap of 135 places reads as a positive Indian-student signal, matching its strong Indian PhD intake into cognitive neuroscience and microbiology disciplines.

Radboud University Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings 2026

The Radboud University THE ranking sits at =#154 in Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, slipping 15 places from #139 in 2022. THE, which scores universities on teaching, research environment, citations, industry income and international outlook, has placed Radboud inside the global top 160 for every edition in the current five-year window.

The five-year average THE rank works out to approximately #143, and the 15-place dip in 2026 is the single break in an otherwise flat line. Indian masters applicants should read this as a stable, research-grade brand: even at its weakest, Radboud’s THE rank still lands 129 places above its QS number for the same cycle.

Trend signal: The single-year drop from #143 to #154 in 2026 reflects THE’s revised citation weighting, not a sudden fall in research output. Stability across editions matters more for degree value than a one-year movement.

Radboud University ARWU (Shanghai) Rankings 2025

Radboud University ranks #130 in ARWU 2025, its strongest single-body number on any global table this cycle. ARWU, which scores universities almost entirely on publication and citation metrics, has placed Radboud inside the global top 130 for every edition since 2020.

Radboud has slid 29 places since ARWU 2021, with the sharpest one-year drop sitting between 2022 and 2023 (#102 to #123, a 21-place fall). The 2021-to-2025 average rank works out to roughly #117, still 166 places stronger than the same-cycle QS average of #258.

What it signals: ARWU rewards Nobel-and-Fields citation depth, so a stable top-150 ARWU position confirms Radboud’s research-output strength. For Indian PhD applicants, this is the most relevant ranking body to weigh.

Radboud University Other Global Rankings

Three more global tables verify Radboud’s research-led profile. US News, CWUR and the CWTS Leiden ranking all place the university inside the global top 200, closer to its ARWU number than its QS number.

The CWTS Leiden rank of #97 is Radboud’s only sub-100 global position on any verified table, and it confirms top-tier citation density per paper. The US News rank of #142 sits roughly 12 places below ARWU and 12 above THE, which tightens the research-driven reading across three independent bodies.

Key insight: The average of ARWU, US News and Leiden ranks lands at #123, which is 160 places stronger than QS. Indian PhD candidates and citation-counting employers should treat this trio as the load-bearing signal.

Radboud University Subject Rankings

Radboud subject rankings carry the university’s strongest numbers anywhere in the global system. Nine THE subject areas are ranked in 2026, with Psychology at #36 standing clear and three more fields placed inside the top 125.

Radboud University THE Subject Rankings 2026

The THE 2026 subject table ranks Radboud across nine fields, with Psychology the standout at #36 globally. The full spread runs from #36 (Psychology) down to #251-300 (Business and Economics).

Four of the nine ranked subjects sit ahead of the overall THE rank (#154), with Psychology, Arts and Humanities, Medical and Health, and Law all clearing the institutional baseline. Computer Science (#176-200) and Business and Economics (#251-300) trail the overall rank, which Indian MS applicants in those streams should weigh against TU Delft and Erasmus Rotterdam respectively.

Key insight: Radboud’s Psychology rank of #36 is the highest Dutch university position in that subject and would place an Indian Psychology applicant inside the global top 50 by program brand.

Radboud University QS Subject Rankings 2025

QS 2025 lists Radboud inside the global top 100 for Linguistics at #76, the university’s one sub-100 QS subject entry. The body-wide QS subject benchmark stands at #41 across ranked fields.

The Linguistics rank of #76 sits 207 places ahead of Radboud’s overall QS rank of #283, the widest subject-to-overall gap in the QS table. For Indian Linguistics applicants, the program brand reads top-100 even though the institutional brand reads top-300.

What it signals: Subject-to-overall gaps wider than 200 places are unusual and almost always point to a research-strong department inside a mid-ranked university. Linguistics applicants should treat Radboud as a top-100 choice for that field.

Radboud University Regional Rankings

Radboud University secures =#44 in QS Western Europe University Rankings 2025 and =#59 in THE Impact Rankings 2024 for Climate Action. Both regional numbers sit well ahead of the QS overall world rank of #283.

The Western Europe rank of #44 puts Radboud inside the regional top 50, which is 239 places stronger than its QS world rank for the same cycle. Climate Action at #59 in THE Impact is the strongest sustainability-aligned mark, useful for Indian applicants weighing Dutch universities on environmental-research credentials.

India-relevance: A regional top-50 European rank carries more weight inside European recruitment markets than a global top-300 number, which matters for Indian masters graduates planning to use the Dutch orientation year (zoekjaar) to find Europe-based work.

Radboud University Rankings: Indian Student Outlook

For Indian applicants, Radboud’s rank pattern reads strongly in three subjects and only modestly at the institutional level. The Indian intake at Radboud clusters around Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Linguistics and Microbiology, which lines up with the subjects where its global rankings carry the most weight.

Popular Programs at Radboud University for Indian Students

• MS Data Science: The most-applied Radboud program from India, supported by the Computer Science subject rank of #176-200 in THE 2026 and Dutch tech-sector hiring through the zoekjaar visa year.
• MS Artificial Intelligence (Intelligent Technology): Aligns with Radboud’s cognitive science and Donders Institute research, sitting on the same Computer Science subject base as Data Science.
• MS Psychology: Backed by the #36 THE 2026 Psychology rank, the strongest subject mark and a top-40 global program brand.
• MS Linguistics: Sits on the #76 QS 2025 Linguistics rank, the only sub-100 QS subject position Radboud carries.
• MS Molecular Mechanisms of Disease / Microbiology: Connects with Radboud’s Life Sciences rank of #126-150 in THE 2026 and the Radboud Medical Center research base.