University of Virginia (UVA) Rankings 2026

University of Virginia Overall Rankings 2026

Five ranking agencies measure University of Virginia against five different formulas, and the spread between them is wide enough to shape an Indian applicant’s read of the brand.

Three of the five bodies (Collegedunia, US News and THE) place the University of Virginia ranking between #135 and #166 globally, while QS and ARWU sit further out at #268 and the 201-300 band. The 130-position gap between US News and QS is the headline number for Indian applicants: US employer brand recognition stays strong even where reputation surveys soften.

Key insight: The four-body average for UVA’s overall world rank lands at roughly #180, which keeps the degree inside the global top 200 by most measures and protects alumni brand value in the US recruiter market.

University of Virginia Rankings: Bottom Line for Indian Students

For Indian students choosing between US public flagships, the University of Virginia ranking pattern reads strongest on subject-level signals, not on the headline world number.

University of Virginia QS World University Rankings 2027

University of Virginia is ranked #268 in QS World University Rankings 2027, released on 18 June 2026. QS, which ranks universities mainly on academic reputation, employer opinion and research citations, has moved UVA across a 51-position window in the last five editions.

The five-year QS trend for the University of Virginia QS ranking is below.

The University of Virginia QS ranking dipped to its weakest point at #297 in 2025 and has recovered 29 positions across the next two editions to land at #268. The 2025 low was 44 positions below the 2024 mark, while the rebound between 2025 and 2027 reads as the strongest two-year recovery in UVA’s recent QS history.

What it signals: The five-year QS average works out to roughly #271, meaning UVA’s QS slot has stayed inside the global 200-300 band the entire window. Indian applicants tracking QS-only cutoffs at consulting and Big Tech employers should note this band, not the single-year low.

Collegedunia Study Abroad Rankings of University of Virginia

The Collegedunia Study Abroad list ranks University of Virginia at #135 globally and #50 in the USA for 2026, built on a formula weighted toward outcomes Indian students care about, including academic reputation, research output, employability and Indian-applicant fit.

Collegedunia places UVA 133 positions ahead of where QS does and 31 ahead of THE, which signals that the metric mix tilts toward Indian-relevance factors (visa outcomes, popular-with-Indians program mix and US employer reach). For applicants comparing 50-100 US universities side by side, the CD #50 USA slot is the practical number to plot the shortlist around.

India-relevance: The CD-vs-QS gap of 133 positions is the widest gap UVA shows on any cross-body comparison, and it reflects the weight Collegedunia places on Indian student outcomes that QS does not measure.

University of Virginia Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings

The University of Virginia THE ranking stands at #=166 in the THE World University Rankings 2026, released in October 2025. THE, which ranks on teaching, research environment, citations and industry income, has held UVA inside the global top-170 band for four consecutive editions.

UVA’s THE position has moved within a 10-position window over four editions, with the 2023 high at #156 and the 2024 and 2026 readings tied at #166. The stability is itself the signal here: where QS jumped 51 positions across five editions, THE has effectively flat-lined, which keeps the research-and-teaching brand intact for Indian PhD and research-track applicants.

Trend signal: A four-year THE average of roughly #163 tells Indian applicants the THE-weighted brand has held steady, an important read for STEM masters’ applicants who track research and citation strength rather than reputation surveys.

University of Virginia ARWU (Shanghai) Rankings

University of Virginia sits in the 201-300 band on ARWU 2025. ARWU, which ranks universities mainly on research output, Nobel and Fields prize-holders plus citations in top journals, has placed UVA in the same band for the four most recent editions.

The single inflection in the ARWU history is the slip from the 151-200 band in 2021 down one band, with the position holding at 201-300 for four straight years since. The four-year hold signals UVA’s research footprint is stable rather than slipping further, a useful read for Indian PhD applicants who track ARWU more closely than QS.

Note: ARWU is the strictest research-only formula in this list. Even with the 2022 drop, UVA’s subject results inside ARWU (Law #18, Education #16, Library and Information Science #7) sit decisively higher than the overall band.

University of Virginia US News Best Global Universities Rankings

The University of Virginia US News ranking is #137 globally in Best Global Universities 2026-2027, released on 16 June 2026. On the US national list, UVA stays at #24 and the #4 top public university position.

UVA’s US News global rank has slipped 18 positions from the #119 plateau held across 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 to the current #137. The US national rank has stayed at #24, which means the slip is a global-cohort effect (more international research universities entering the pool), not a fall in US recruiter standing.

India-relevance: US National #24 and Public #4 are the two numbers Indian applicants should track for US-recruiter outcomes, since the H1B sponsor pool tracks US standing more closely than global rank.

University of Virginia Financial Times Rankings

The UVA Darden School of Business is ranked #19 globally in the FT Global MBA Ranking 2026 and #9 in the USA. The Financial Times, which ranks MBA programmes on alumni salary, salary-percentage gain, career progress and research, has lifted Darden one position from its 2025 reading.

Darden has held inside the FT global top 20 for three editions, and the 2024 cycle also produced a #1 public business school in the world ranking from FT. The 2026 reading places UVA Darden seven positions behind ISB Hyderabad (FT #12), the single most important head-to-head comparison Indian MBA applicants will make on the FT list.

Key insight: The Darden FT trend is the only ranking on UVA’s profile that sits decisively inside any global top-20. For Indian applicants who plan to return for a senior India role, the Darden-vs-ISB gap of seven positions is closer than the QS or THE comparison suggests.

University of Virginia Subject Rankings

The University of Virginia subject rankings carry a stronger story than the overall world rank. Six subjects sit inside the global top 75 on at least one body, and three subjects sit inside the top 20 on ARWU.

University of Virginia Law Rankings

UVA Law sits at #18 in ARWU 2025, #=36 in THE 2026 and #62 in QS 2025. The 44-position gap between ARWU and QS shows the research base is the stronger half of the law programme’s profile.

What it signals: Indian LL.M. applicants tracking law-school brand for India return-track careers will read ARWU and THE as more relevant than the QS Law slot.

University of Virginia Business and Economics Rankings

The UVA Business and Economics subject ranks at THE #64 in 2026, while the Darden School MBA reaches FT Global MBA #19 in the same cycle. The 45-position gap means Darden as a standalone MBA programme outperforms UVA’s broader Business and Economics academic brand by a wide margin.

University of Virginia Education and Psychology Rankings

Education ranks #16 in ARWU 2025 and #=71 in THE 2026; Psychology comes in at ARWU #24 and THE #64. The ARWU positions are the standouts, sitting roughly 250 positions ahead of UVA’s overall ARWU band.

Key insight: For Indian masters’ and PhD applicants in Education and Psychology, UVA’s ARWU subject rank is the strongest single signal on the entire profile, ahead of any other subject result.

University of Virginia Computer Science and Engineering Rankings

Computer Science is placed at THE #126-150 in 2026, while Engineering broadly sits at THE #201-250. UVA’s STEM subjects sit lower than the overall world band, which is the inverse of its Law and Education pattern.

India-relevance: Indian MS in CS applicants choosing between UVA and the top US public peers (Michigan, UIUC, Purdue) should weigh the THE CS #126-150 band against employer outcomes data, not the headline UVA world rank.

University of Virginia Other Subject Rankings

The remaining UVA subject placements on THE 2026 are below.

Across the wider THE subject list, UVA’s strongest non-Law placements sit inside the global top 150, and the Medical and Health rank #176-200 tracks closely with its global overall position. The Life Sciences and Arts and Humanities #126-150 band is a useful read for Indian masters’ applicants in liberal arts and biology-track programmes.

University of Virginia Rankings: Indian Student Outlook

The University of Virginia ranking for Indian students reads strongest on subject brand, US national position and the Darden MBA outcome, and weakest on the headline QS world number.

Indian students at UVA most commonly enrol in five programme clusters, each tied to a specific ranking signal on the profile.

• MS in Computer Science: Tied to THE Computer Science #126-150 and US National #24; UVA’s CS programme is a Tier-2 US public choice for Indian STEM applicants.
• MS in Data Science: Cross-listed with Statistics; benefits from UVA’s strong Education and Psychology research base on ARWU.
• MBA at the Darden School: The strongest UVA ranking on any body, FT Global MBA #19, US #9.
• LL.M. at the School of Law: Sits behind only Yale, Stanford and Harvard among US Law schools for Indian applicants pursuing global ARWU Law #18 brand.
• MS in Engineering (various): THE Engineering #201-250 is the band to track; the US national engineering profile remains stronger than the global slot suggests.