The University of Delaware (UD), located in Newark in the state of Delaware in the United States, ranks #43 globally for Oceanography in ARWU 2025, the only single-subject position where UD enters the world top 50. Across general university rankings, UD is placed at #575 in QS World University Rankings 2027 and #364 in Collegedunia Study Abroad 2026, with engineering its strongest applied discipline at the THE 176-200 band.

  • QS World 2027: #575 globally, #70 in the USA
  • Collegedunia Study Abroad 2026: #364 globally, #165 in the USA
  • THE World 2026: 401-500 band globally
  • ARWU 2025: 201-300 band globally; #43 in Oceanography

Note for Indian applicants: UD’s QS headline reads modest while ARWU’s stable 201-300 band and #43 Oceanography rank tell a stronger story. IIT Bombay’s #134 QS 2027 rank sits 441 places above UD, though UD’s chemical engineering 51-75 ARWU band closes the subject-level gap. Indian applicants should choose UD for oceanography, chemical engineering, engineering or education, the four streams where the rank profile is stronger than the headline.

Read More: University of Delaware Admissions 2026: Deadlines, Eligibility & Acceptance Rate for Indian Students

University of Delaware Overall Rankings 2025-2027

Across four major global ranking bodies plus Collegedunia Study Abroad, UD sits inside the top 575 worldwide on QS but slips into the 400+ band on THE and US News. The pattern shows UD scores better on reputation and teaching than on research citation counts.

Ranking Body (Edition)University of Delaware Rank
Collegedunia Study Abroad 2026#364
QS World University Rankings 2027#575
Times Higher Education World 2026401-500
ARWU (Shanghai) 2025201-300
U.S. News Best Global Universities 2025-2026#466

The ARWU 201-300 band is the strongest reading across the five bodies, since ARWU weighs research output and Nobel-class scientific impact most heavily. The 275-position QS-vs-ARWU gap signals UD’s research credentials outperform its overall reputation. PhD and research-MS applicants should therefore give ARWU more weight than QS when judging UD.

Key insight: The 275-position QS-to-ARWU gap is unusual at this tier and points Indian applicants toward UD’s research-led graduate programs rather than its undergraduate reputation halo.

University of Delaware Rankings: Bottom Line for Indian Students

For Indian applicants weighing UD against peer USA publics and IIT alternatives, three rank signals carry the most weight: the ARWU 201-300 band, the QS 2027 #575 position and the world-#43 Oceanography rank.

SignalRankWhat it means for Indian applicants
QS World 2027#575Lower than India’s top IITs, so degree brand abroad reads as mid-tier global public
ARWU 2025201-300Strong research signal for PhD and MS thesis applicants; better than the QS headline
Oceanography (ARWU GRAS 2025)#43World top 50 in a niche subject; PhD pipeline value for marine, climate and Earth-system students
Chemical Engineering (ARWU GRAS 2025)51-75World top-75 band; one of UD’s strongest research subjects
Closest Indian alternative (engineering)IIT Bombay #134 (QS 2027)India’s #2 on QS; sits 441 places above UD globally, but UD becomes more competitive at the subject level

For Indian students, UD’s value concentrates in research-led streams rather than the headline rank. Subject-level positions sit 200-300 places above UD’s overall ranks across both ARWU and THE. Applicants targeting marine science, chemical engineering or education will find UD’s gap to Indian alternatives much narrower.

University of Delaware QS World University Rankings 2027

UD is ranked #575 in QS World University Rankings 2027 after slipping 77 positions since its 2024 peak of #498. QS scores universities on academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations and international diversity. UD has sat outside the world top 500 in three of the last four QS editions.

The 2024-to-2027 decline of 77 positions reads as a steady slide rather than a methodology-driven one. The largest single-year fall of 47 places came between QS 2025 and QS 2026.

YearUniversity of Delaware QS World Rank
2027#575
2026#553
2025#506
2024#498

The four-year arc shows UD peaked in QS 2024 at #498 then slid to #575 by 2027, an average yearly drop of about 19 positions. For Indian applicants the practical impact is moderate: UD has stayed in the global top 600 throughout, so the alumni-brand value abroad remains intact even as the headline number weakens.

Key insight: Despite the 77-position fall since 2024, UD’s USA rank inside QS has held in the #70-73 band each year, signalling the slide reflects rising competition from European and Asian universities rather than a domestic decline.

Read More: University of Delaware Courses and Fees 2026 for Indian Students

Collegedunia Study Abroad Rankings of University of Delaware

Collegedunia Study Abroad places UD at #364 globally for 2026, a position that aligns more closely with UD’s ARWU 201-300 band than its QS 2027 #575 reading.

CategoryCollegedunia Rank
Collegedunia Study Abroad Global 2026 (Overall)#364

The CD-vs-QS gap of about 211 positions is notable for Indian students. CD weighs Indian-relevance signals higher than QS does, so a stronger CD position points to better fit for the typical Indian-applicant profile. UD’s CD position sits in the global top 45% of the 824 universities Collegedunia tracks.

University of Delaware Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings

UD sits in the 401-500 band of Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026. THE weights teaching, research environment, citations and international outlook. The body briefly moved UD into the 351-400 band in 2025 before the latest edition returned the university to the 401-500 tier.

YearUniversity of Delaware THE Rank
2026401-500
2025351-400
2024401-500

UD held the 351-400 band for one edition then slipped back, a one-band 50-position oscillation that points to a stable research footprint rather than directional decline. The THE position roughly aligns with UD’s QS #575 placement. Indian applicants reading both should treat the 400-band as the dependable teaching-and-research signal.

What it signals: A one-edition jump and return to the same band rules out methodology-driven volatility and tells Indian applicants UD’s THE position is steady around the 401-500 mark.

University of Delaware ARWU (Shanghai) Rankings

Across five consecutive editions of ARWU (Shanghai), UD has stayed in the 201-300 band, the most stable position UD records on any global ranking body. ARWU scores universities mainly on research output, Nobel-and-Fields-medal counts and highly-cited researchers.

YearUniversity of Delaware ARWU Rank
2025201-300
2024201-300
2023201-300
2022201-300
2021201-300

Five years of flat band performance is the strongest stability signal in UD’s ranking profile. The 201-300 ARWU band reads roughly 275 places above UD’s QS #575 position, the widest cross-body lead UD shows. For Indian PhD and MS-thesis applicants, this signals UD’s research depth is real rather than reputational.

India-relevance: A five-year ARWU plateau in the 201-300 band places UD ahead of more than 700 of the roughly 1,000 universities ARWU tracks. The signal travels well with thesis-supervisor selection committees in India.

University of Delaware Other Global Rankings

UD’s U.S. News Best Global Universities position at #466 globally for 2025-2026 sits between its QS and CD readings, fitting the mid-400 pattern visible across other bodies. U.S. News weights research reputation, publications and citations slightly differently from QS and THE.

RankingEditionUniversity of Delaware Rank
U.S. News Best Global Universities2025-2026#466

The US News #466 position sits between UD’s QS 2027 #575 and CD 2026 #364 readings. The mid-400 placement fits the broader cross-body pattern. For Indian applicants reading US News, the rank confirms UD as a reliable mid-tier global pick rather than a top-100 globally branded university.

University of Delaware Subject Rankings 2025-2026

UD’s subject ranking profile is uneven: Oceanography breaks the world top 50 in ARWU GRAS while general business and medical-health rankings sit in 500+ bands on THE. Engineering, education and chemical engineering are the three streams where UD outperforms its overall position by 100 or more places.

Key insight

  • Single world top-50 subject: Oceanography at #43 in ARWU GRAS 2025 is the only UD subject inside the global top 50.
  • Strongest THE subjects: Engineering and Education both sit at the 176-200 band in THE 2026, well above UD’s 401-500 overall THE band.
  • Chemical-engineering pedigree: ARWU GRAS 2025 places Chemical Engineering at 51-75, the second-strongest single-subject position UD holds.
  • Hospitality and Library Science: Both score inside the world top 100 in ARWU GRAS 2025, the strongest non-STEM signals.

University of Delaware ARWU Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2025

ARWU’s subject ranking is the source of UD’s strongest individual-discipline positions, with eight UD subjects appearing inside the world top 150.

Subject (ARWU GRAS 2025)University of Delaware Rank
Oceanography#43
Chemical Engineering51-75
Hospitality & Tourism Management51-75
Library & Information Science76-100
Chemistry101-150
Materials Science & Engineering101-150
Remote Sensing101-150
Sociology101-150

Three subjects sit at least 100 places above UD’s overall ARWU 201-300 band: Oceanography, Chemical Engineering and Hospitality. This signals that UD’s research depth in these fields outstrips its general institutional rank. For Indian students this is the clearest signal of where UD’s graduate-school value concentrates.

Key insight: A 150+ position subject-vs-overall gap is rare. For applicants in the relevant disciplines, UD’s effective ranking story shifts from "mid-500s global" to "world top 50 in marine science".

University of Delaware THE Subject Rankings 2026

Engineering and Education both sit at the 176-200 band in THE Subject Rankings 2026, UD’s strongest cross-subject positions on this ranking. THE places UD across ten broad subject categories overall.

Subject (THE 2026)University of Delaware Rank
Engineering176-200
Education Studies176-200
Psychology201-250
Computer Science251-300
Physical Sciences251-300
Life Sciences301-400
Arts & Humanities401-500
Social Sciences401-500
Business & Economics501-600
Medical & Health501-600

The 300+ position spread between Engineering (176-200) and Medical & Health (501-600) is wider than at most universities in UD’s overall THE tier. The pattern marks UD as a discipline-specialist rather than a balanced general university. Indian applicants targeting MS programs in computer science or psychology should treat the 201-300 placements as UD’s middle-tier strength.

University of Delaware Rankings: Indian Student Outlook

For Indian students, UD’s ranking story splits clearly between general overall positions in the 400-500 zone and a small set of subject positions inside the world top 100. The headline pull comes from UD’s research-active public profile rather than rank-based prestige alone.

Indian students most often choose these five programs at UD:

  • MS in Cybersecurity
  • MS in Data Science
  • MS in Computer Science
  • MS in Business Analytics & Information Management
  • MBA

These map to UD’s THE Computer Science 251-300 band and ARWU Chemical Engineering 51-75 strength, both relevant to the engineering and analytics streams Indian students prefer.

Five rank signals carry the most decision weight for Indian applicants choosing UD.

Indian-applicant signalRankWhat it means
Strongest UD subject for marine and Earth science applicantsOceanography #43 (ARWU GRAS 2025)PhD-grade value for Indian climate, marine and Earth-system researchers
Chemical engineering applicants51-75 (ARWU GRAS 2025)World top-75 band, much closer to top-Indian-institute strength than the QS gap suggests
Cybersecurity, data science, CS applicants251-300 (THE Computer Science 2026)Middle-tier global rank; consistent with Indian-student top-pick programs
Closest Indian alternative (engineering)IIT Bombay #134 (QS 2027)India’s #2 on QS; sits 441 places above UD globally, gap narrows at subject level
CD-vs-QS gap211 positions (CD #364 vs QS #575)UD’s India-relevance reads stronger than its raw QS number suggests

The five-signal pattern concentrates UD’s stream-specific advantages in three departments: oceanography, chemical engineering and education. The QS gap to top Indian institutes shrinks at the subject level. For Indian students with discipline-specific goals, UD is a far stronger pick than the QS-only headline suggests.

Key insight

  • Stability outweighs slippage: ARWU’s five-year 201-300 plateau is a stronger Indian-applicant signal than the 77-position QS decline since 2024.
  • Subject-led admission rationale: Apply for Oceanography, Chemical Engineering, Engineering or Education streams where UD’s ranks are 100-200 places stronger than the headline.
  • Vs IIT Bombay: UD is not a peer at the QS level, but UD’s chemical engineering ARWU GRAS band of 51-75 closes much of the QS-driven distance from India’s top engineering departments.
  • USA rank holding steady: UD’s #70-73 USA position in QS has not shifted in four years, so its US degree-brand value remains consistent.

UD’s ranking profile splits in two for Indian students. The QS #575 headline reads mid-tier global, while Oceanography #43 and Chemical Engineering 51-75 mark UD as a research-active public-university option. Eight subjects inside the world top 150 on ARWU GRAS 2025 confirm research depth, so target UD for specific disciplines rather than the overall rank.

University of Delaware Ranking FAQs

Ques. What is the QS ranking of University of Delaware in 2027?

Ans. University of Delaware ranks #575 in QS World University Rankings 2027 and #70 in the USA on the same edition. UD has stayed inside the world top 600 in QS for four consecutive years.

Ques. Is University of Delaware ranked in the world top 500 globally?

Ans. UD sits just outside the top 500 on QS (#575 in 2027) and inside the 401-500 band on Times Higher Education 2026. On ARWU 2025 it is placed in the 201-300 band, the only ranking body that ranks UD in the world top 300.

Ques. What is University of Delaware’s strongest subject ranking?

Ans. Oceanography is UD’s strongest ranked subject at #43 in ARWU GRAS 2025, the only UD discipline inside the world top 50. Chemical Engineering and Hospitality & Tourism Management both sit at #51-75 in the same ranking.

Ques. How does University of Delaware compare with IIT Bombay on rankings?

Ans. IIT Bombay ranks #134 in QS World University Rankings 2027 while UD ranks #575, a 441-position gap on QS. The gap narrows at the subject level, where UD’s chemical engineering enters the world 51-75 band of ARWU GRAS 2025.

Ques. Is the University of Delaware ranking improving or declining?

Ans. UD’s QS ranking has declined 77 positions since its 2024 peak of #498, while ARWU has stayed steady at 201-300 for five straight editions. THE moved up one band in 2025 then returned to 401-500 in 2026, signalling overall stability rather than sharp directional change.

Ques. Is University of Delaware ranked by Collegedunia Study Abroad?

Ans. Yes. UD is ranked #364 globally in Collegedunia Study Abroad 2026 out of 824 universities tracked. The CD position sits 211 places above UD’s QS 2027 ranking, signalling stronger India-relevance than the raw QS number suggests.

Ques. What is University of Delaware’s US News Best Global Universities ranking?

Ans. UD is ranked #466 in U.S. News Best Global Universities 2025-2026 out of 2,250 universities. This is consistent with UD’s mid-400 placement across other global ranking bodies.