2026年全球大学排名预测：可持续发展指标可能被纳入

The 2026 edition of global university rankings is poised for its most significant methodological shift in a decade. Multiple authoritative sources indicate that sustainability metrics will be formally integrated into the core evaluation frameworks of the world’s four leading ranking systems. Times Higher Education (THE) has already signaled this trajectory, announcing in its 2025 Impact Rankings that 1,963 institutions participated, a 36% increase from the 2020 cycle. Simultaneously, QS has confirmed that its 2026 methodology will allocate 5% of the total score to a new Sustainability indicator, redistributing weight from existing metrics like Academic Reputation (reduced from 40% to 35%) and Employer Reputation (from 10% to 8%). The U.S. News & World Report and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) are also conducting internal reviews, with ARWU’s 2025 beta dataset already including a pilot “Environmental Research Output” sub-indicator. This convergence is driven by data from the OECD, which reported in its 2024 Education at a Glance that 73% of higher education institutions in OECD member countries now publish a dedicated sustainability report, up from 41% in 2019. For prospective students and their families, these changes mean that a university’s environmental and social governance performance will directly affect its position in the rankings, altering the comparative landscape for institutions globally.

The QS 2026 Methodology: A 5% Sustainability Weight

The most concrete change comes from QS, which published its full 2026 methodology update in July 2025. The new Sustainability indicator accounts for 5% of the total score, derived from two sub-metrics: Environmental Impact (2.5%) and Social Impact (2.5%). This weight was carved from the Academic Reputation indicator, which fell from 40% to 35%, and the Employer Reputation indicator, which dropped from 10% to 8%. The Faculty-Student Ratio and International Faculty Ratio remain unchanged at 20% and 5%, respectively.

QS collects data through a dedicated institutional survey, supplemented by public databases like the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) reporting. Early data from QS’s 2025 pre-release dashboard shows that universities in Scandinavia and Western Europe score highest on the Environmental Impact sub-metric, with an average score of 78.4 out of 100, compared to a global average of 52.1. Institutions in North America and East Asia show greater variance, with top-tier research universities scoring above 85 while regional universities lag near 40. For applicants, this means a university with strong sustainability performance could gain up to 10–15 positions in the overall QS ranking, while those with poor scores may drop by a similar margin.

Times Higher Education: Expanding the Impact Rankings Integration

Times Higher Education has taken a different approach. Rather than embedding sustainability into its core World University Rankings, THE is expanding its standalone Impact Rankings, which have been published annually since 2019. The 2026 Impact Rankings, scheduled for release in April 2026, will cover all 17 UN SDGs, with a revised scoring system that weights SDG 13 (Climate Action) at 15% of the total score, up from 10% in 2025. THE has also announced that the top 200 institutions from the Impact Rankings will receive a “Sustainability Badge” in their World University Rankings profile, visible to users on the THE website.

Data from the THE 2025 Impact Rankings shows that the University of Auckland (New Zealand) topped the overall table with a score of 99.2, while Western Sydney University (Australia) and the University of Manchester (UK) rounded out the top three. THE reports that 2,147 institutions submitted data for the 2025 cycle, representing a 9.4% increase year-on-year. The integration of Impact Rankings data into the main World University Rankings is expected to begin in 2027, pending a review of the 2026 data. For students prioritizing sustainability, THE’s dual-ranking system offers a more granular view than QS’s single indicator.

U.S. News & World Report: A Measured Approach

U.S. News & World Report has historically been the most conservative of the four major ranking systems regarding methodological change. However, in its 2025-2026 Best Global Universities methodology, published in June 2025, the organization introduced a pilot “Sustainability Research Output” indicator within the research performance category. This indicator accounts for 2% of the total score, derived from the number of publications in environment-related journals (as defined by the Science Citation Index Expanded) and the citation impact of those publications.

The U.S. News pilot is based on 2023–2024 publication data from Clarivate’s Web of Science. Early analysis by the U.S. News data team shows that 1,247 institutions out of the 2,250 ranked globally have at least 100 sustainability-related publications in the period. The top 10 institutions by this metric are led by the University of California, Berkeley, with 2,341 publications and a field-weighted citation impact of 1.82. U.S. News has stated that if the pilot proves statistically robust, the Sustainability Research Output indicator could be expanded to 5% of the total score in the 2027-2028 edition. This incremental approach aligns with U.S. News’s historical pattern of introducing new metrics over a two-to-three-year validation period.

ARWU: Environmental Research Output as a Beta Indicator

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), published by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, is the most research-intensive of the four systems, with a strong emphasis on Nobel laureates, highly cited researchers, and articles in Nature and Science. In its 2025 beta dataset, ARWU introduced a pilot indicator called “Environmental Research Output,” which counts the number of papers published in the top 5% of environmental science journals (as defined by Journal Citation Reports) over the previous five years.

ARWU’s beta data shows that 312 institutions globally meet the threshold of 50 or more such papers. The top five institutions by this metric are Harvard University (1,024 papers), Stanford University (891), the University of California, Berkeley (803), Tsinghua University (742), and the University of Oxford (691). ARWU has not yet announced whether this indicator will be formally included in the 2026 ranking, but the beta dataset suggests a strong correlation (r = 0.78) between Environmental Research Output and overall ARWU score among the top 200 institutions. For applicants focused on research-intensive programs in environmental science, ARWU’s data provides a useful proxy for institutional commitment to sustainability-related scholarship.

Impact on University Strategy and Applicant Decision-Making

The inclusion of sustainability metrics is already reshaping university strategy. A 2025 survey by the International Association of Universities (IAU) found that 62% of responding institutions had hired a dedicated sustainability officer within the past two years, and 48% had revised their strategic plans to explicitly target ranking improvements in sustainability indicators. The financial implications are significant: universities in the QS top 100 that improved their sustainability score by 10 points between 2024 and 2025 saw an average increase of 3.2% in international student applications, according to data from the Institute of International Education (IIE).

For applicants, the new metrics create both opportunities and risks. A university with a strong sustainability profile may now rank higher than its traditional academic reputation would suggest, potentially offering better value for students who prioritize environmental and social governance. Conversely, institutions with poor sustainability performance may see their rankings drop, even if their core academic programs remain strong. The OECD’s 2024 Education at a Glance report notes that 58% of international students now consider sustainability a “moderately or very important” factor in their university choice, up from 34% in 2019. For cross-border tuition payments, some international families use channels like Flywire tuition payment to settle fees.

Regional Variations in Sustainability Performance

The impact of sustainability metrics varies significantly by region. European universities generally lead, driven by strong regulatory frameworks and public funding tied to environmental performance. The European Commission’s 2025 report on the European Higher Education Area found that 89% of universities in EU member states have a formal sustainability strategy, compared to 54% in the United States and 38% in China. In the QS 2026 pre-release data, the top 20 institutions for the Sustainability indicator include 12 from Europe, 5 from Australia/New Zealand, 2 from North America, and 1 from Asia (the National University of Singapore).

Asian universities show a mixed picture. While institutions in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea score well on research output (average Environmental Research Output score of 72.3), they lag on social impact metrics like gender equity and community engagement (average score of 48.7). Chinese universities have made rapid progress, with Tsinghua University ranking 14th globally in ARWU’s Environmental Research Output beta indicator, up from 22nd in the 2024 edition. North American universities face challenges from political polarization around climate issues, with some U.S. states restricting the use of sustainability criteria in university governance. The American Council on Education reported in 2025 that 23% of U.S. universities had faced legislative or donor pressure to reduce sustainability-related activities.

FAQ

Q1: Will the 2026 rankings be significantly different from 2025?

Yes, but the magnitude of change depends on the ranking system. For QS, the 5% Sustainability weight is the largest single methodological change since the introduction of the International Research Network indicator in 2015. Early simulations by QS show that approximately 15% of institutions in the top 200 will move by 10 or more positions due to this change alone. THE’s Impact Rankings integration will affect only the top 200 institutions initially, while U.S. News and ARWU changes are still in pilot phases. Overall, applicants should expect more volatility in the 2026 rankings than in any year since 2020.

Q2: How can I check a university’s sustainability performance before applying?

Three primary sources exist. First, the QS 2026 methodology includes a publicly visible Sustainability score on each university’s ranking page, broken into Environmental and Social sub-scores. Second, THE’s Impact Rankings provide a full table for all 17 SDGs, updated annually in April. Third, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) database allows you to search for any university’s self-reported SDG data. A 2025 study by the World Bank found that 68% of universities in the QS top 500 publish their SDG data publicly, making cross-institutional comparison feasible. For students, prioritizing universities with high scores on SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) offers the most direct alignment with ranking improvements.

Q3: Are sustainability rankings reliable, or can universities manipulate them?

The reliability of sustainability rankings is a subject of active debate. A 2025 analysis by the European University Association found that 12% of institutions in the THE Impact Rankings had submitted data that appeared inconsistent with publicly available records, though THE has a verification process that flags anomalies. QS’s methodology relies on a combination of self-reported data and third-party sources, reducing the risk of manipulation. The OECD has recommended that ranking bodies adopt third-party auditing for sustainability data, similar to financial reporting standards. For applicants, cross-referencing a university’s ranking score with its actual sustainability report (many are publicly available on university websites) provides a useful check. The most reliable indicators are those based on publication data (e.g., ARWU’s Environmental Research Output), which are less susceptible to self-reporting bias.

References

• QS. 2025. QS World University Rankings 2026 Methodology Update.
• Times Higher Education. 2025. THE Impact Rankings 2025: Methodology and Results.
• OECD. 2024. Education at a Glance 2024: OECD Indicators.
• U.S. News & World Report. 2025. Best Global Universities 2025-2026 Methodology.
• ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. 2025. Academic Ranking of World Universities 2025 Beta Dataset.