Monday, January 26, 2026

Mexico’s National Autonomous University ranked No. 100 in the world

For the first time ever a Mexican university has been ranked in the top 100 in the world by QS World University Rankings.

The organization, which claims to be the “world’s most-consulted, most-covered source of comparative information about university performance,” has ranked the National Autonomous University (UNAM) as No. 100 of the top institutes of higher learning around the globe.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford and Harvard topped the list in that order. The highest-ranked university in Latin America was Argentina’s University of Buenos Aires, which came in at No. 66.  

The second-best university in Mexico, the Tec de Monterrey (ITESM), came in at 155th place, moving up three in the rankings since last year and marking its ninth consecutive year of improvement.  

Schools are assessed by their academic reputation, employer reputation, facility to student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio and international student ratio. ITESM’s rise is primarily due to a 28-place jump in the employer reputation indicator, which measures how each institution is viewed by academics worldwide.

unam rankings
How the National Autonomous University has ranked since 2012.

The ranking organization’s director of research, Ben Sowter, applauded the Mexican universities’ progress. “The rise of UNAM and ITESM has not been accidental. ITESM has highlighted the provision of world-class teaching in its institutional strategy, which has helped cultivate its outstanding consideration among employers,” Sowter said.

“UNAM has also made credible efforts to become a more global institution, a strategy that involves future improvements in academic recognition and research performance. This is a deserved, decisive moment for Mexican higher education.”

The complete list can be viewed at www.TopUniversities.com, which received over 149 million visits in 2019.

Founded in 1551, UNAM is the oldest university in Latin America and has about 140,000 students.

Mexico News Daily

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
A man looks out over Mexico City from a public transport gondola

Mexico’s week in review: Prisoner handover deepens US security ties while trade tensions threaten USMCA

0
Mexico navigated a tense week with its northern neighbors, as Canada's comments at Davos revealed cracks in the USCMA partnership and Mexico-US security collaboration continues to deepen.
Ryan Wedding in custody

Former Olympic snowboarder, wanted in US for trafficking, arrested in Mexico

6
Canadian Ryan Wedding lived a “colorful and flashy” lifestyle in Mexico for 10 years, while allegedly running a major cocaine trafficking business and sitting on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.
Mexican President Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

Opinion: Mexico could lose out as Canada risks USMCA with bet on ‘new world order’

13
As Canada pushes back against the U.S., Mexico has the most to lose, writes Logan Gardner.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity