Makerere University has retained its place in the 801–1,000 band of the 2027 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, maintaining the position it achieved in the 2026 rankings.
The Ugandan university had climbed back into the global top 1,000 in 2026 after being placed in the 1,201–1,500 band in 2025. Its return to the 801–1,000 range in 2026 marked a significant recovery in its position in the global rankings.
The Ugandan university recorded an overall score ranging between 36.4 and 40.1 in the ranking.
Makerere scored 24.0 for teaching, 29.1 for research environment, 53.9 for research quality, 24.6 for industry and 66.4 for international outlook.
Makerere remains ranked 1st in East Africa, maintaining its position as the top-ranked institution in Uganda and the East African community, while placing tied in the 801–1,000 global band across Africa alongside institutions like Covenant University (Nigeria) and the University of Ibadan (Nigeria), positioning it among the top tier of ranked universities on the continent outside of South Africa’s dominant flagships.
THE, which assesses 2,297 universities across 118 countries and territories, does not assign individual positions to universities ranked within the 801–1,000 band.
The 2027 rankings place the University of Oxford at number one globally for an 11th consecutive year, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in second place.
Princeton University and Stanford University share third place, while the University of Cambridge is fifth and Harvard University sixth.
The California Institute of Technology is seventh, Imperial College London eighth, while the University of California, Berkeley and Yale University share ninth place.
China’s Tsinghua University rose to 11th place, overtaking Switzerland’s ETH Zurich, which was ranked 12th.
China’s Peking University placed 13th, while the National University of Singapore moved into 15th place.
THE said the 2027 rankings mark the first time that Asia has overtaken continental Europe in the overall regional rankings. Three Asian universities also appear among the global top 15 for the first time.
The ranking evaluates universities using 18 performance indicators grouped into five broad areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook.
For Makerere, its strongest reported performance was in international outlook, where it scored 66.4, followed by research quality at 53.9.
Its scores for research environment and industry were 29.1 and 24.6 respectively, while its teaching score was 24.0.
THE describes its rankings as an assessment of research-intensive universities based on their core missions of teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international engagement.
The 2027 edition includes universities from 118 countries and territories, making it one of the largest global comparisons of higher education institutions.
Makerere’s placement comes as universities across Africa seek to strengthen research capacity, international partnerships, industry links and graduate training in an increasingly competitive global higher education system.