As competition for international students reshapes universities worldwide, The Korea Times unveiled the first-ever K-universities Global Excellence Rankings 2026, evaluating 54 schools across four categories: education, research, student support and graduate outcomes. The evaluation, aimed at gauging global readiness and guiding international students considering studying in Korea, was based on publicly available data from the Ministry of Education’s Higher Education in Korea and Naver Scholytics. The following tables present the Top 30 universities overall, along with the Top 30 by each category.