George Washington University, located in Washington D.C. in the United States, is the only U.S. private research university to sit inside the world top 20 for Political Sciences on the ARWU Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2025. The university ranks #=381 in QS World University Rankings 2027 globally, holds #84 in USA on the Collegedunia Study Abroad list, and crosses inside the world top 100 the moment Business or Law is isolated as a subject.
The five major global rankings agree on one pattern for the George Washington University ranking: a mid-#200 to mid-#300 overall position paired with a small handful of standout subjects.
- QS World University Rankings 2027: #=381 globally, #56 in the USA
- Collegedunia Study Abroad Rankings 2026: #210 globally, #84 in USA
- Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026: 201-250 band globally
- U.S. News Best Global Universities 2025-2026: #245 globally
Reading the rank pattern: Four of the five major bodies place GW outside the world top 200 on raw global score, but each one moves GW inside the world top 100 the moment Law, Political Science or Business is isolated. The Political Sciences gap is the widest, an overall world rank near #381 against a subject world rank of #16, a 365-place delta that is larger than at most U.S. peers in the same overall band. For Indian applicants targeting Law, Public Policy, International Affairs or an MBA, that subject signal is the rank that should carry the most weight.
Table of Contents
- George Washington University Overall Rankings
- George Washington University Rankings: Bottom Line for Indian Students
- George Washington University QS World University Rankings 2027
- Collegedunia Study Abroad Rankings of George Washington University
- George Washington University Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings
- George Washington University ARWU (Shanghai) Rankings
- George Washington University U.S. News Best Global University Rankings
- George Washington University Financial Times Rankings
- George Washington University Subject Rankings
- George Washington University Rankings: Indian Student Outlook
- George Washington University Ranking FAQs
George Washington University Overall Rankings 2026
Five major global ranking bodies have published a verified George Washington University ranking in the last 12 months. The widest gap between any two of them is 171 places, between Collegedunia at #210 and QS at #=381, which signals that bodies that weight reputation and subject strength rate GW noticeably higher than bodies that weight raw research volume.
| Ranking Body (Edition) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Collegedunia Study Abroad Rankings 2026 | #210 globally, #84 in USA |
| QS World University Rankings 2027 | #=381 globally, #56 in USA |
| U.S. News Best Global Universities 2025-2026 | #245 globally |
| Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 | 201-250 band globally |
| ARWU Academic Ranking of World Universities 2025 | 301-400 band globally |
The 5-body average global rank for GW sits in the high #200s, which lines up almost exactly with peer private U.S. universities in the same overall band. The big read is that no single global body places GW inside the world top 200, but four of the five place GW inside the U.S. top 90, which keeps the alumni brand strong on Indian shortlists even when the global number looks modest.
Key insight: The 171-place spread between GW’s Collegedunia rank (#210) and its QS rank (#=381) is larger than the spread you see at most U.S. universities in the same band, and it points to a degree whose value for an Indian applicant depends heavily on which body, and which subject, you read first.
George Washington University Rankings: Bottom Line for Indian Students
For an Indian applicant, the George Washington University ranking is best read as three numbers, not one. The overall rank sits between #210 and #=381 depending on the body, the U.S. national rank sits between #56 and #84, and the strongest subject rank crosses inside the world top 20 on ARWU.
| Ranking signal | What it shows | What it means for Indian applicants |
|---|---|---|
| QS World 2027: #=381 | Mid-band global research and reputation score | Degree carries U.S. brand value; not a top-200 global trophy |
| ARWU Political Sciences 2025: #16 worldwide | Top-20 global research strength in one core subject | Strongest signal for applicants targeting International Affairs or Public Policy |
| QS Law 2027: #86 worldwide | Top-100 global subject reputation | Useful credential for Indian LLM applicants, especially those eyeing D.C. firms |
| QS Business 2027: #97 worldwide | Top-100 globally for business subject | GW MBA carries top-100 subject credibility for Indian B-school aspirants |
| IIT Delhi QS World 2027: #118 globally | India’s top-ranked QS institute | For raw global rank, IIT Delhi sits 263 places above GW; for U.S. exposure GW wins |
| U.S. News Global 2025-2026: #245 | Climbed 26 positions in latest edition | Recent upward signal on the body U.S. employers read most often |
Key insight
- Subject-vs-overall gap: The 365-place gap between GW’s ARWU overall rank and its ARWU Political Sciences subject rank (#16) is the single largest signal on the page; if your target program is political science or international affairs, the overall number is the wrong number to read.
- Indian comparator gap: IIT Delhi sits at #118 globally on QS 2027 against GW at #=381, a 263-place edge for the Indian institute on raw QS score, but GW’s #56 U.S. national rank keeps it inside the top tier of U.S. private universities that Indian applicants chase for STEM and Law masters degrees.
- U.S. National Position: #56 in USA on QS and #84 on Collegedunia keep GW inside the top quarter of U.S. universities, which is the band most Indian masters applicants actually shortlist.
George Washington University QS World University Rankings 2027
The George Washington University QS ranking sits at #=381 globally in QS World University Rankings 2027 and #56 in the USA. QS ranks universities based on academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty, international student and sustainability scores.
Over five editions, GW has stayed inside a 41-place band. The university ranks at #=381 in 2027, slipped back from the 5-year best of #=340 in QS 2024, and is now 19 places below its 2023 position. The 5-year average global rank is #362.
| Year | George Washington University QS World University Rank |
|---|---|
| 2027 | #=381 |
| 2026 | #=358 |
| 2025 | #=371 |
| 2024 | #=340 |
| 2023 | #362 |
The 5-year line is not a steady slide. GW peaked at #=340 in 2024, slipped 31 places in 2025, regained 13 in 2026, and gave up another 23 in 2027. The pattern looks like normal mid-band volatility on a body that weights research citations heavily, rather than a structural decline, and the U.S. national rank of #56 has held the same band throughout.
What it signals: A 41-place 5-year band on QS is normal for a private U.S. university outside the top 200; for an Indian applicant the takeaway is that the GW degree value has not materially shifted in either direction across the four most recent edition releases.
Collegedunia Study Abroad Rankings of George Washington University
Collegedunia Study Abroad ranking of George Washington University places the university at #210 globally and #84 in USA on the 2026 list. That is 171 places higher than the QS overall figure, which is the single largest gap among the five bodies on this page.
| Category | Collegedunia Rank (2026) |
|---|---|
| Overall | #210 globally, #84 in USA |
| Law | #60 globally, #22 in USA |
| Social Studies | #89 globally, #37 in USA |
| Health Care | #98 globally, #34 in USA |
| Medicine | #98 globally, #34 in USA |
| Computer Science | #168 globally, #59 in USA |
| Arts | #173 globally, #57 in USA |
| Humanities | #173 globally, #57 in USA |
| Engineering | #180 globally, #67 in USA |
Law is the standout, at #60 worldwide on Collegedunia Study Abroad, which is 321 places ahead of GW’s QS overall number and 30 places ahead of even the U.S. News Law subject score. Health Care and Medicine both sit inside the global top 100, a signal that lines up with U.S. News, where GW Public Health crosses inside the U.S. top 10.
India-relevance: Five of the eight Collegedunia subject categories place GW inside the global top 100, which is a denser cluster of top-100 subjects than the overall #210 figure suggests; for an Indian shortlist, the Collegedunia subject view is more useful than the Collegedunia overall view.
George Washington University Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings
The George Washington University THE ranking sits in the 201-250 band on Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026. THE, which ranks universities based on teaching environment, research quality, citations, industry income and international outlook, has placed GW inside the same band for three consecutive editions.
| Year | George Washington University THE World Rank |
|---|---|
| 2026 | #201-250 |
| 2025 | #201-250 |
| 2024 | #201-250 |
A flat 3-edition line in the same 50-rank band is itself a signal. GW has neither slid into the 251-300 band nor jumped into the 151-200 band even as ranking methodology has been tweaked twice in that window, which signals durable research and citation output rather than a one-off spike.
Trend signal: A flat 201-250 line across three editions means an Indian applicant can take GW’s THE position as the most stable of the five rankings on this page, and the safest one to quote when degree credibility is being assessed by a recruiter or visa officer.
George Washington University ARWU (Shanghai) Rankings
The George Washington University ARWU ranking sits in the 301-400 band on ARWU 2025, with a brief two-year jump into the 201-300 band in 2022 and 2023. ARWU ranks universities mainly based on Nobel and Fields medal counts, highly cited researchers, papers in Nature and Science, indexed papers, and per-capita academic performance.
| Year | George Washington University ARWU World Rank |
|---|---|
| 2025 | #301-400 |
| 2024 | #301-400 |
| 2023 | #201-300 |
| 2022 | #201-300 |
| 2021 | #301-400 |
GW slipped one band on ARWU between 2023 and 2024, which is one band wider than the QS and THE movements in the same window. The likely read is that ARWU’s heavier weighting on Nobel and Fields counts penalises subject-led universities like GW that perform best in Law, Political Science and Public Policy, fields that produce few Nobel laureates by design.
Key insight: GW’s ARWU subject score of #16 globally for Political Sciences is 285 places higher than its ARWU overall band midpoint of around #350, the widest subject-vs-overall gap of any body on this page and the strongest single piece of evidence that the overall ARWU number is the wrong lens for an Indian Political Science or International Affairs applicant.
George Washington University U.S. News Best Global University Rankings
The George Washington University U.S. News ranking sits at #245 in U.S. News Best Global Universities 2025-2026. U.S. News ranks universities based on global research reputation, regional research reputation, publications, citations and international collaboration.
| Year | George Washington University U.S. News Global Rank |
|---|---|
| 2025-2026 | #245 |
| 2024-2025 | #271 |
| 2023-2024 | #271 |
GW climbed 26 positions in the 2025-2026 edition after holding flat at #271 for two consecutive years. That is the sharpest single-edition movement across any of the four global bodies on this page, and it moved GW from the bottom of the world top 300 into the upper half of it.
What it signals: A 26-place U.S. News climb in one edition typically reflects improved research output and global collaboration scores rather than methodology shifts; for an Indian applicant the practical signal is that the most U.S.-centric body on the page now reads GW more favourably than the global average across QS, THE and ARWU.
George Washington University Financial Times Rankings
The George Washington University Financial Times ranking covers the GW School of Business MBA only, not the wider university. The GW Global MBA was placed at #69 worldwide in the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2024, a jump from #58 the prior cycle. FT ranks MBAs based on alumni salary three years after graduation, career progression, international mobility and faculty research.
The FT placement is the only ranking on this page where GW’s rank reflects post-graduation salary signal directly, which makes it the most India-relevant data point for an applicant choosing between a U.S. MBA and an Indian IIM degree on pure ROI logic.
India-relevance: A #69 global FT MBA position keeps GW inside the world top 70 for graduate salary outcomes, which sits in the same band as several IIM MBA programs ranked on the same FT list, and signals that an Indian MBA applicant choosing GW is buying a globally portable salary signal, not a Top-10 brand premium.
George Washington University Subject Rankings
Five officially ranked subjects cross inside the world top 100 across QS, THE and ARWU. Political Sciences on ARWU is the standout, at #16 worldwide, while Law appears in all three subject lists inside the world top 125.
Key insight
- Top-20 global subject: ARWU Political Sciences 2025 ranks GW at #16 worldwide, the only top-20 global subject placement across any body on this page.
- Triple-body Law signal: Law sits at #86 on QS, in the 101-125 band on THE and at #43 on ARWU, the only subject ranked inside the world top 125 on all three major subject lists.
- Business and Management: QS Business places GW at #97 globally, THE Business and Economics at 126-150, and FT MBA at #69, a three-body cluster that keeps GW inside the top 100-150 band for business across every methodology.
George Washington University QS Subject Rankings 2027
QS publishes a subject-level rank for GW in four disciplines where the university has enough research output for inclusion. The QS subject ranks line up far more favourably than the QS overall rank.
| Subject | QS Subject Rank 2027 |
|---|---|
| Law and Legal Studies | #86 globally |
| Business and Management Studies | #97 globally |
| Management (Business Masters) | #153 globally |
| Medicine | #180 globally |
Two of GW’s four QS subject ranks sit inside the world top 100, against an overall QS rank of #=381. That 295-place subject-vs-overall gap on Law is the widest on this page, and a stronger Law signal than QS gives to several U.S. universities ranked 50 places higher than GW overall.
George Washington University THE Subject Rankings 2026
THE publishes a subject-level rank for GW across eleven disciplines. Law again sits inside the world top 125, while three subjects, Business and Economics, Medical and Health and Social Sciences, sit inside the world top 175.
| Subject | THE Subject Rank 2026 |
|---|---|
| Law | #101-125 globally |
| Business and Economics | #126-150 globally |
| Medical and Health | #126-150 globally |
| Social Sciences | #151-175 globally |
| Education Studies | #201-250 globally |
| Engineering | #201-250 globally |
| Psychology | #201-250 globally |
| Life Sciences | #251-300 globally |
| Physical Sciences | #251-300 globally |
| Arts and Humanities | #301-400 globally |
| Computer Science | #301-400 globally |
Four of GW’s eleven THE subjects sit inside the world top 175, all in social-science adjacent fields, while none of the four hard-science subjects cross inside the top 200. The pattern matches the QS subject pattern exactly, and confirms that GW is read by every global body as a subject-led social science and law university first.
George Washington University ARWU Subject Rankings 2025
ARWU publishes GW’s subject rank across eight disciplines on its Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2025. Political Sciences at #16 worldwide is the headline number, and the only top-20 global subject GW holds on any ranking body.
| Subject | ARWU GRAS Subject Rank 2025 |
|---|---|
| Political Sciences | #16 globally |
| Law | #43 globally |
| Statistics | #51-75 globally |
| Public Administration | #76-100 globally |
| Education | #76-100 globally |
| Communication | #76-100 globally |
| Geography | #101-150 globally |
| Clinical Medicine | #101-150 globally |
Six of GW’s eight ARWU subjects sit inside the world top 100, against an ARWU overall band of 301-400. The 285-place average gap between ARWU subject and ARWU overall is the widest gap of any ranking body on this page, and the single strongest data point for an Indian Political Science, International Affairs or Public Policy applicant.
Key insight: Of the 23 distinct subject rankings GW holds across QS, THE and ARWU, 11 sit inside the world top 100; that is a denser cluster of top-100 subject ranks than the overall #=381 QS figure suggests by any margin.
George Washington University Rankings: Indian Student Outlook
The George Washington University ranking for Indian students reads very differently across overall, subject and U.S. national lenses. GW currently enrols around 813 Indian students, the second-largest international cohort after China, and the rank pattern that matters most for that group sits at the subject level, not the global level.
Indian students at GW concentrate inside five programs:
- MBA at GW School of Business, anchored by the FT 2024 rank of #69 globally and the QS Business 2027 rank of #97
- MS Computer Science, where the QS Computer Science subject rank does not appear but THE places the field in the 301-400 band
- MS Data Science, which leans on the ARWU Statistics rank of #51-75 globally
- MS Information Systems Technology and MS Cybersecurity, anchored by GW’s Washington D.C. location and federal-agency research network
- BA International Affairs and MA Asian Studies at the Elliott School, anchored by the ARWU Political Sciences rank of #16 globally
| India-relevant signal | 2026 reading |
|---|---|
| Strongest GW subject for Indian applicants | Political Sciences #16 on ARWU 2025; Law #43 on ARWU |
| U.S. national rank for Indian shortlists | #56 in USA on QS 2027; #84 in USA on Collegedunia 2026 |
| GW QS rank vs IIT Delhi QS rank | GW #=381 vs IIT Delhi #118 (263-place IIT edge on QS) |
| Recent direction signal | +26 places on U.S. News 2025-2026; flat 201-250 on THE |
| MBA ROI signal for Indian applicants | FT MBA #69 globally in 2024; QS Business #97 in 2027 |
Key insight
- Subject signal dominates overall signal: The 365-place gap between GW’s overall ARWU rank and its Political Sciences subject rank of #16 means an Indian applicant in International Affairs, Public Policy or Political Science should quote the subject number, not the overall number.
- Peer comparison: IIT Delhi sits 263 places above GW on raw QS 2027, but GW’s #56 U.S. national rank gives the degree the U.S. labour-market signal an IIT degree cannot replicate for an Indian aspirant aiming at a U.S. career.
- Stability for credentialing: Three flat years in the THE 201-250 band give the GW degree a stable credential signal for visa, employer and Indian university credit-transfer purposes.
- MBA ROI: An FT 2024 MBA rank of #69 combined with a QS Business 2027 rank of #97 makes the GW MBA a top-100 globally-recognised credential, on a body that measures actual salary outcomes three years post-graduation.
- Direction of travel: The +26 climb on U.S. News 2025-2026 is the only sharp positive movement across any body in the last edition; on the body U.S. employers read most often, GW is moving up.
For an Indian applicant comparing GW with a top IIT or IIM on raw QS overall rank, the gap looks wide; but on subject-level Law, Political Science and Business numbers, GW crosses inside the world top 100 on three different bodies, and on the FT MBA list it sits 50 places higher than several U.S. private universities ranked above it on QS overall.
George Washington University Ranking FAQs
Ques. What is the George Washington University ranking in QS World University Rankings 2027?
Ans. George Washington University ranks #=381 globally in QS World University Rankings 2027 and #56 in the USA. That is a 23-place slip from its 2026 position of #=358 but a 19-place slip from its 2023 position of #362, and it sits inside a 5-year band of 41 places.
Ques. What is the THE ranking of George Washington University in 2026?
Ans. George Washington University sits in the 201-250 band on Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, the same band it has held for three consecutive editions. A flat 3-edition line in the same 50-rank band is one of the most stable THE patterns for any U.S. private research university outside the top 200.
Ques. What is the George Washington University ranking for Indian students looking at Political Science or International Affairs?
Ans. For Political Science and International Affairs, the most relevant George Washington University ranking is the ARWU Political Sciences 2025 rank of #16 globally. That is GW’s strongest single subject rank on any body and a 365-place gap above its ARWU overall band midpoint, which makes Political Science the strongest subject signal on this page for Indian applicants.
Ques. How does the George Washington University U.S. News ranking compare with QS and THE?
Ans. U.S. News places GW at #245 globally in Best Global Universities 2025-2026, ahead of QS at #=381 and roughly level with THE at 201-250. U.S. News climbed 26 places in the latest edition while QS slipped 23, which signals that U.S.-weighted methodology rates GW more favourably than reputation-and-citation methodology does.
Ques. What is the Collegedunia Study Abroad ranking of George Washington University?
Ans. Collegedunia Study Abroad ranks George Washington University at #210 globally and #84 in USA on its 2026 list. Law sits at #60 globally on the same body, and five of GW’s eight Collegedunia subject categories cross inside the global top 100.
Ques. Is the George Washington University MBA ranking competitive globally?
Ans. The George Washington University MBA ranking sits at #69 globally in Financial Times Global MBA 2024 and #97 in QS Business and Management Studies 2027. Both bodies place the GW MBA inside the world top 100, and FT in particular ranks the program on actual alumni salary three years post-graduation, the closest measure of MBA ROI for an Indian applicant.
Ques. What is the George Washington University ARWU Shanghai ranking and what does the subject rank mean?
Ans. George Washington University sits in the 301-400 band on ARWU 2025, but its subject rank of #16 globally for Political Sciences is the single strongest GW data point on any global body. The 285-place average gap between GW’s ARWU overall and ARWU subject scores is the widest subject-vs-overall gap on this page.
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