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Complutense climbs the Shanghai ranking and enters the world’s top 300
Complutense University of Madrid has made one of the main Spanish leaps in the 2026 edition of the Shanghai ranking. UCM moves from the 301–400 band to 201–300, while Autonomous University of Madrid remains among the world’s 301–400 best. Madrid therefore keeps two institutions in the top 400.
The clearest improvement belongs to the Complutense, which regains a position it had not held since 2022. Among Spanish universities, only the University of Barcelona, in the 151–200 band, and the Autonomous University of Barcelona, also in the 201–300 band, appear in the higher groups of the ranking.
The Autonomous University of Madrid, by contrast, does not move up a category compared with last year. It remains in the 301–400 band for the tenth consecutive year and continues to be the second-highest-ranked university in the Community of Madrid in this ranking.
Further down is the Polytechnic University of Madrid, which improves to the 501–600 band but remains outside the top 500. The University of Alcalá falls from the 701–800 group to 801–900, while Rey Juan Carlos University enters the 901–1000 band this year.
The worst news for Madrid concerns Carlos III University. After appearing among the 901–1000 best universities in 2025, it disappears in this edition from the list of one thousand universities published by Shanghai.
Spain's overall balance also loses ground. Twelve universities in the country manage to place among the top 500 and 30 appear among the top 1,000, compared with 36 in the previous edition. Eight institutions have dropped out and two have been added, including Rey Juan Carlos University itself.
At the very top, there are hardly any changes. Harvard remains the best university in the world, followed by Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The ranking mainly assesses the research strength of each institution using indicators such as highly cited researchers, scientific publications and Nobel Prizes or Fields Medals, so it does not operate as a direct classification of the quality of teaching or student experience.
For Madrid, the picture in 2026 is uneven but brings a significant improvement: the Complutense returns to the top 300 group. Cantoblanco retains its position among the top 400 and the Polytechnic advances, while Alcalá and Carlos III lose ground in an increasingly competitive international ranking.