Jamia Millia Islamia becomes India's top-ranked Central University

Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has achieved a major milestone by becoming India’s highest-ranked central university and securing the third position among all Indian institutions in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026. The results, announced on October 9 (Thursday), place JMI in the 401–500 global band, marking a significant jump from its 2025 rank in the 501–600 band.

In this 22nd edition of THE rankings, which evaluated 2,191 universities from 115 countries and territories, only the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and Savita Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai ranked higher than JMI in India. This makes JMI the only central university in the acclaimed 401–500 band for 2026.

JMI’s impressive rise reflects its



advancements in teaching standards, research quality, and its growing international presence. The improvement is attributed to consistent efforts in academic development, sustained research initiatives, and expanding global collaborations.

Expressing pride over the achievement, Vice-Chancellor Professor Mazhar Asif and Registrar Professor Mohammad Mehtab Alam Rizvi congratulated the “Jamia family,” particularly the IQAC (Internal Quality Assurance Cell) team. They said:

“This remarkable performance is the result of the collective efforts, dedication, and hard work of our faculty members, students, researchers, alumni, non-teaching staff, and our industry-academia partnerships. These have elevated Jamia to high levels of academic excellence, internationalisation, and global relevance.”