Imperial reached the eighth place in Time Magazine’s “World’s Top Universities of 2026” ranking, released on January 28th. Nationally, the College came third to the universities of Oxford (first place) and Cambridge (seventh place). Imperial’s “Global Engagement” score was the third highest of any institution on the ranking, only behind the British universities of UCL and St Andrews. However, the College was given the second-worst “Innovation & Economic Impact” score within the top 10. In October, the Times Higher Education World Universities Ranking 2026 had also placed Imperial at the 8th position globally, behind its rivals Oxford and Cambridge.