Who Leads the World's Top Universities?
As the chief executive of a university, the president represents the institution externally while overseeing its operations internally. They are the "key minority" whose decisions shape the university's strategic direction. Presidents of the world's leading universities, in particular, rank among the most influential figures in global higher education. Following the release of the QS World University Rankings 2027, and coinciding with the appointments of new presidents at California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, and Northwestern University on July 1, WorldHE compiled data on the presidents of the top 50 universities in the latest QS rankings. The analysis examines their highest academic qualifications, alma maters, disciplinary backgrounds, interdisciplinary experiences, and age profiles, revealing a portrait of today's leaders of elite universities. The findings show that they are predominantly scholars in their sixties holding doctoral degrees, most of whom were trained in the natural or social sciences. Nearly half are also serving as presidents of their own alma maters. The Alumni Network Behind the Presidents of the QS Top 50 UniversitiesAccording to publicly available information, 47 of the 50 presidents (94%) hold doctoral degrees. Only two have a master's degree as their highest qualification, while one holds only a bachelor's degree. Where did these university presidents study? WorldHE collected information on the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral institutions attended by all 50 presidents in an effort to map the alumni network behind the world's leading universities. The results show that Harvard University and the University of Oxford each account for seven degree records among the presidents, consisting of two bachelor's degrees, two master's degrees, and three doctorates respectively. They are followed by the University of Cambridge and Yale University, each with six degree records. Cambridge contributed three bachelor's degrees, one master's degree, and two doctorates, while Yale accounts for one bachelor's degree, two master's degrees, and three doctorates. Stanford University and the University of Toronto each contributed five degree records. Other universities with three or more degree records include Australian National University, the University of Sydney, the University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nanjing University, National University of Singapore, Peking University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of New South Wales. Although the list is still dominated by institutions from the United States and the United Kingdom, the presence of Nanjing University, National University of Singapore, and Peking University highlights the growing influence of Asian universities—particularly those in China mainland—in cultivating future leaders of global higher education. The educational journeys of these presidents also foreshadowed their future careers. Among the 50 presidents, 20 currently lead their own alma maters. Presidents who return to their alma mater often possess a deep understanding of the institution's traditions and culture, while externally appointed leaders tend to bring broader experience and fresh perspectives gained from other universities. Academic Backgrounds of Presidents at the QS Top 50 UniversitiesWorldHE also compiled the academic disciplines studied by all 50 presidents at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels. The disciplines were classified according to the International Standard Classification of Education: Fields of Education and Training 2013 (ISCED-F 2013) developed by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The disciplinary distribution reveals a clear concentration of academic backgrounds among university presidents. The largest group—21 presidents—has backgrounds in Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics, accounting for nearly half of the sample and underscoring the enduring importance of fundamental research in academic leadership. The second most common field is Social sciences, journalism and information, represented by 14 presidents, followed by Health and welfare, with 10 presidents. These findings suggest that, alongside the traditional dominance of the natural sciences, social sciences and health-related disciplines are becoming increasingly prominent pathways to university leadership, reflecting the growing emphasis universities place on public engagement, social impact, and health-related challenges. At the same time, interdisciplinary academic training has become an increasingly significant characteristic of university presidents. The data show that 19 presidents pursued degrees spanning multiple disciplinary fields across their bachelor's, master's, and doctoral education. Among these interdisciplinary leaders, the most common combination is Business, administration and law together with Social sciences, journalism and information, shared by four presidents. This combination reflects the growing integration of management, public communication, governance, and legal expertise in university leadership. The second most common combinations are Engineering, manufacturing and construction with Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics, and Health and welfare with Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics, each represented by three presidents. These interdisciplinary pathways are far from coincidental. They reflect the increasing demand for integrated expertise in modern university governance. As universities confront increasingly complex challenges, effective leadership requires individuals capable of bridging the boundaries between the natural sciences, social sciences, and professional disciplines. Notes 1. Information on university presidents was manually collected from publicly available sources. Data on some presidents' educational backgrounds and academic disciplines remain incomplete; therefore, the analysis should be regarded as incomplete. Degree statistics are reported by degree records rather than by individuals. If a president earned bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from the same university, that institution is counted three times. For disciplinary statistics, if all of a president's degrees belong to the same discipline, the discipline is counted once. If a president studied in two or more different disciplines, each discipline is counted once. 2. The disciplinary categories used in this analysis follow the broad field definitions of the International Standard Classification of Education: Fields of Education and Training 2013 (ISCED-F 2013) established by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The disciplines included are Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics (abbreviated as Natural sciences), Social sciences, journalism and information (Social sciences), Health and welfare, Engineering, manufacturing and construction (Engineering), Arts and humanities, Business, administration and law (Business), Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary (Agriculture), and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
Data & Rankings
NSF Tightens Restrictions on China Research Ties
On July 8, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) published a notice on its official website titled "Prohibition on Collaborations with Restricted Entities," announcing a new policy that will take effect in fiscal year (FY) 2027 prohibiting NSF funds from being used to support collaborations with entities appearing on U.S. restricted party lists. Under the new policy, senior/key personnel will be prohibited from collaborating with these restricted entities on NSF-funded projects. In addition, senior/key personnel will be prohibited from holding an appointment or position with, or receiving research support from, any restricted entity for the duration of an NSF award. To implement the policy, NSF plans to revise its current guidance to include the following provisions: NSF appropriated funds shall not be used for grants, contracts, other transactions, or other assistance to an organization if the purpose is to conduct research in collaboration with restricted entities. This funding prohibition also extends to the employees of such restricted entities.Senior/key personnel are prohibited from holding an appointment or position with, or receiving research support from, a restricted entity. Further, senior/key personnel are prohibited from collaborating with a restricted entity, or any employee thereof, on research funded by their NSF award.To comply with this prohibition once it becomes effective, organizations' Authorized Organizational Representatives (AORs) and senior/key personnel will be required to certify compliance at the time of proposal submission. Organizations will also be responsible for ensuring that senior/key personnel are aware of and comply with the prohibition, and for identifying and addressing any prohibited activities before NSF funds are expended. The U.S. Proscribed Party Lists referenced by NSF draw from seven U.S. government departments and agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Department of State, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). According to Science, the lists cover hundreds of China's leading universities, national laboratories, and other research institutions. However, some prominent Chinese institutions have notably been omitted from the restricted lists. For example, Tsinghua University, which is not currently on the list, recently hired away 2025 Nobel laureate in Chemistry Omar Yaghi from the University of California, Berkeley. Representative John Moolenaar (R–MI), chairman of the Select Committee on China in the U.S. House of Representatives, described the NSF's move as "commendable and commonsense" and urged other federal agencies to "follow the lead of the Pentagon and NSF." Many scientists, however, argue that the policy overlooks the mutual benefits of U.S.-China scientific collaboration and could ultimately harm research in both countries. The constraints on U.S.-China scientific cooperation have continued to tighten. On May 29, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a proposed rule that would comprehensively overhaul federal grantmaking policies. The proposal seeks to establish a uniform standard across all federal agencies by prohibiting federal grant funds from supporting any research collaboration with entities in "countries of concern," including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The proposal is open for public comment until July 13, with a final rule expected to be issued in October. The OMB proposal has sparked widespread concern across the U.S. higher education community. Critics argue that, if adopted, the rule would allow federal agencies to terminate grants at any time if they are deemed inconsistent with "evolving national interests." They also warn that it could significantly impede university researchers' ability to collaborate with scientists outside the United States and to co-author research papers with international partners. In an interview with Science, Stanford University physicist Peter Michelson said, "This NSF policy and the likely new OMB regulations are definitely not good for U.S. science. Very damaging!" Science also noted that one of the greatest uncertainties concerns the definition of a "research collaboration." Would it include informal conversations at academic conferences about publicly available research, or co-authorship on papers where the authors conducted their work independently? Agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NASA already appear to be limiting grantees' freedom to co-author papers with foreign scientists. "Co-authorship is not necessarily equivalent to collaboration," said Kevin Wozniak of the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), a nonprofit consortium of universities that monitors federal research policy. "But the National Institutes of Health calls it a factor" in determining whether an interaction crosses the line. The NSF policy is currently still open for public comment. On July 15, officials from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy's Office of Science are scheduled to testify before the House Select Committee on China. The hearing may provide greater clarity on the future direction of U.S.-China scientific collaboration.
Global Nature and Science Leaders, H1 2026
Nature and Science, the world's most influential and prestigious scientific journals, have long served as the premier venues for publishing major scientific discoveries and groundbreaking research. The number of papers published in these two top-tier journals has become one of the key indicators for evaluating the research strength of universities and research institutions. With the first half of 2026 now complete, WorldHE has compiled publication data for universities worldwide in Nature and Science from January to June 2026, providing a snapshot of the global research landscape during the first half of the year. In addition, WorldHE continues to track universities' Nature and Science publications over the past 12 months, with the complete dataset available through the link. More Than 30 Universities Published Over 10 Nature & Science Papers in the First Half of the YearAmong the Top 10 universities worldwide by total Nature and Science (NS) publications in the first half of 2026, five are from the United States, three from China Mainland, and two from the United Kingdom, forming the leading tier of global research output in top-tier journals. Harvard University ranked first by a wide margin with 78 papers (51 in Nature and 27 in Science). Remarkably, 76 of these papers listed Harvard-affiliated corresponding authors, underscoring the university's unparalleled research scale and leadership. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) followed with 53 papers, while Stanford University ranked third with 44 papers, reaffirming the dominance of the longstanding "top three" among U.S. institutions. Stanford is also one of the few universities to publish more papers in Science (23) than in Nature (21), reflecting its long-established disciplinary strengths. Peking University and the University of California, Berkeley tied for fourth place with 29 NS papers each. Peking University stood out particularly in Nature, publishing 24 papers, trailing only Harvard and MIT and ranking third globally. This achievement demonstrates that Peking University's output in the natural sciences has reached the world's highest level. UC Berkeley, by contrast, maintained a balanced publication profile across Nature and Science, highlighting its comprehensive excellence spanning the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth sciences. Among universities in China Mainland, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (28 papers) and Tsinghua University (26 papers) ranked 6th and 7th globally, respectively. The United Kingdom's University of Cambridge (23 papers) and University of Oxford (21 papers) placed 8th and 9th, forming Europe's strongest duo. The University of Pennsylvania, with 19 papers, rounded out the global top ten. In total, 33 universities worldwide published at least 10 NS papers during the first half of 2026. In addition to the top ten institutions, universities such as ETH Zurich, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Cornell University, Yale University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Johns Hopkins University also delivered outstanding performances. A Tripolar Global Research LandscapeFrom a national and regional perspective, the United States remains the undisputed global leader. Of the 33 universities publishing more than 10 NS papers, 19 are American, accounting for well over half of the total. U.S. universities are particularly dominant in Science. The five institutions publishing more than 10 Science papers—Harvard University, Stanford University, MIT, UC Berkeley, and the University of Pennsylvania—are all based in the United States. Moreover, several American universities, including Johns Hopkins University and the University of Chicago, published more papers in Science than in Nature, reflecting their deep strengths in medicine and the life sciences. At the same time, the proportion of papers with U.S.-based corresponding authors remains exceptionally high, reinforcing the country's leadership in international research collaborations. China Mainland has firmly established itself as the second global research powerhouse, with its overall publication volume significantly surpassing that of traditional scientific powers such as the United Kingdom and Germany. Nine universities in China Mainland published more than 10 NS papers during the first half of the year. Universities in China Mainland display a clear preference for Nature, with publication counts generally exceeding those in Science. This trend reflects China's longstanding strengths in fields such as physics, chemistry, materials science, and nanoscience, and highlights the structural characteristics of its basic research portfolio. Notably, the share of papers with corresponding authors from institutions in China Mainland has increased substantially, indicating that Chinese researchers are assuming increasingly prominent leadership roles in international collaborations. Europe continues to maintain a stable and highly competitive research ecosystem. The University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford both remained in the global top ten, while Imperial College London and University College London (UCL) each published seven papers. ETH Zurich, with 18 papers, ranked 11th globally, making it the highest-performing non-English-speaking university in Europe. The vast majority of its papers were led by researchers from the institution itself, demonstrating its strong research independence and institutional leadership. In France, Université Paris Cité published nine papers, while Université PSL contributed seven, making them the leading institutions in the French-speaking academic community. In Germany, LMU Munich, the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and Goethe University Frankfurt each published seven papers, collectively forming a key pillar of European scientific research. Methodology For Nature, only articles classified as "Article" and "Review Article" were included. For Science, the analysis covered "Special-Issue Research Article," "Research Article," and "Review." The data cover the period from January 1 to June 30, 2026. Only the physically first-listed first author was counted as the first author. All corresponding authors were counted, with each affiliated institution receiving one count. If the first author and corresponding author belonged to the same institution, the paper was counted only once for that institution. The analysis includes only formally published papers and excludes articles that remained in online pre-publication or early-access status.
CU Boulder's Chemistry Chair Joins China's New University Full-Time
Recently, internationally renowned chemist Professor Wei Zhang, a recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship and former Chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder, officially joined Great Bay University (GBU) in China as a full-time faculty member. He has been appointed Chair Professor and Associate Dean of the School of Materials Science. According to available information, Great Bay University was officially established in Guangdong Province, China, in June 2025. Positioned as a high-level, research-intensive, internationally oriented institution with a "small but elite" model, the university focuses on fundamental and frontier scientific research to support China's major national strategies and the socioeconomic development of the Greater Bay Area. It is committed to building a new research university that is world-class, open and inclusive, and distinguished by its Greater Bay Area identity. Professor Wei ZhangProfessor Zhang received his bachelor's degree from the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering at Peking University before pursuing graduate studies in the United States. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and subsequently completed postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He later joined the faculty of the University of Colorado Boulder, a leading research university internationally recognized for excellence in physics, chemistry, aerospace engineering, and other scientific disciplines, and home to numerous Nobel laureates. Professor Zhang was awarded tenure in 2014, promoted to Full Professor with tenure in 2018, and has served as Chair of the Department of Chemistry since 2022. Professor Zhang's research focuses on functional polymeric materials enabled by dynamic covalent chemistry. His work has consistently bridged fundamental chemistry and practical applications, spanning two-dimensional materials, porous organic materials, sustainable and recyclable polymers, molecular separations and carbon capture, flexible sensing devices, and materials for all-solid-state batteries. Together, these efforts form a highly interdisciplinary research program that extends from molecular design to functional materials and onward to applications in energy, environmental technologies, and electronic devices. In recognition of his outstanding scientific contributions, Professor Zhang has received the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award and the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, and has been elected a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). He has also been named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher for two consecutive years. The Sloan Research Fellowship is widely regarded as one of the world's most prestigious early-career scientific honors, with many of its past recipients later going on to win the Nobel Prize.
U.S. PhD Admissions Plunge as Research Funding Shrinks
Data collected by the Association of American Universities Data Exchange (AAUDE) from 55 member institutions of the Association of American Universities (AAU) show that doctoral admissions—a key indicator of universities’ ability to enroll new PhD students—fell by 15% overall in fall 2026 compared with the previous year. At the same time, while applications from domestic students to doctoral programs increased by 3%, applications from international students declined by 21%. The decline has been even more pronounced at some universities. According to The New York Times, the California Institute of Technology expects to enroll 40% fewer new graduate students this fall, while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology anticipates about 20% fewer new graduate students. The AAU attributes the decline in graduate admissions directly to the financial uncertainty facing universities as a result of declining and increasingly unpredictable federal research funding. Since the beginning of last year, federal research agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have terminated previously awarded grants, faced proposals from the current administration for substantial budget cuts, and slowed the pace of new grant awards despite receiving adequate congressional appropriations. These agencies are among the primary sources of research funding for U.S. universities. Meanwhile, changes in U.S. immigration policy have made international students feel less welcome, while universities in other countries have intensified their efforts to recruit international STEM talent. Together, these developments appear to have reduced international students’ interest in pursuing doctoral education in the United States. The result has been a broad contraction in doctoral training capacity across research universities. Indeed, many institutions have gone so far as to suspend doctoral admissions altogether, turning away highly qualified applicants—including those in strategically important fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced engineering. The disruption also extends to students already well advanced in their doctoral studies. PhD candidates whose research has been derailed by abrupt grant terminations and delayed funding renewals have been forced to abandon their original dissertation projects, seek new faculty advisors, and, in some cases, postpone completion of their degrees by more than a year. The AAU concludes with a stark warning: as PhD admissions continue to decline, the United States faces the alarming prospect of losing an entire generation of scientific talent. The global scientific leadership that the United States has spent decades building is now at risk.
China Announces 2025 State Science and Technology Awards
On July 8, China's 2025 State Science and Technology Awards were announced in Beijing. A total of 258 projects and 11 scientists were honored for their outstanding scientific and technological achievements. Among the top honors, the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award was presented to Chen Liquan and Ben De in recognition of their groundbreaking contributions to the fields of lithium batteries and radar technology, respectively. The State Natural Science Award recognized 51 projects, including 3 First Prizes and 48 Second Prizes. The State Technological Invention Award honored 58 projects, comprising 3 First Prizes and 55 Second Prizes. The State Scientific and Technological Progress Award was conferred on 149 projects, including 3 Grand Prizes, 13 First Prizes, and 133 Second Prizes. Among the announced award-winning projects, Peking University and Zhejiang University each received 12 awards, while Shanghai Jiao Tong University received 10. Peking University won a First Prize of the State Natural Science Award for its project, "Research on the Full Quantum Effects of Hydrogen Bond Strength and Dynamic Processes in Water." This award represents the highest honor in China's basic science research and is not awarded every year if no project is deemed worthy. Another First Prize of the State Natural Science Award was awarded to Nanchang University for its project, "Three-Dimensional PN Junctions Based on V-Defects and Their Applications," in the field of information science. In addition, the 2025 State Science and Technology Awards conferred the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award on nine foreign experts. Established by the State Council in 1994, the award recognizes foreign individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to China's scientific and technological development. Since its first presentation in 1995, the award has been bestowed upon 155 foreign experts, three international organizations, and one foreign organization. The recipients of the 2025 China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award are: Artem Oganov (Russia), male, born in March 1975. An expert in materials genome engineering and advanced materials, Professor at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Honorary Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Member of Academia Europaea.Baolian Su (Belgium), male, born in November 1961. An inorganic materials scientist, Professor at the University of Namur, Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium, and Member of Academia Europaea.Carlos Antonio Pancada Guedes Soares (Portugal), male, born in December 1950. An expert in naval architecture and ocean engineering, Professor at the University of Lisbon, Member of the Portuguese Academy of Engineering, and Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.Elsa Reichmanis (United States), female, born in December 1953. A chemist and materials scientist, Distinguished Professor at Lehigh University, Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Inventors, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.Jean-Marie Lehn (France), male, born in September 1939. A chemist, Professor at the University of Strasbourg, Member of the French Academy of Sciences, Foreign Associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Kudryavtsev Anatoly (Russia), male, born in October 1953. An expert in low-temperature plasma, formerly Professor at Saint Petersburg State University and currently Professor at Harbin Institute of Technology.Martin Andrew Green (Australia), male, born in July 1948. A photovoltaic technology expert, Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, Foreign Member of the Royal Society, and Foreign Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.Otto Heinrich Herzog (Germany), male, born in September 1944. An expert in artificial intelligence, Professor at the University of Bremen, Member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering, and Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.René Bernards (the Netherlands), male, born in January 1953. An oncologist, Professor at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Foreign Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Foreign Member of the Royal Society.
WorldHE NS Watch: China Mainland Edges US This Week
As global competition in scientific research continues to intensify, publication output in Nature and Science has become one of the most widely recognized indicators of a university's research excellence, capacity for original innovation, and international academic influence. WorldHE continuously tracks both the latest weekly publications and annual research output in Nature and Science by universities around the world, offering timely insights into the evolving global landscape of higher education and scientific research. Click here to access the complete dataset of university NS publications. Weekly Global University NS PublicationsBetween 29 June and 5 July 2026, 57 universities worldwide published research papers in Nature and Science. Universities from China Mainland accounted for 16 institutions, while the United States contributed 14, placing them well ahead of all other countries and regions and highlighting their strong research momentum. The United Kingdom had nine universities and Germany had seven universities publishing NS papers, reflecting the continued strength of these traditional scientific powerhouses. Among the week's most notable contributors, the University of Cambridge published one paper in Nature and two papers in Science, focusing on the Hormone Cell Atlas, fibroblasts, and the complex dynamics of the inner Earth. Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego each published two papers across the two journals. Global University NS Rankings: The Past 12 MonthsAccording to WorldHE's tracking of publications between 5 July 2025 and 5 July 2026, 70 universities worldwide published at least 10 papers in Nature and Science. Among the top 10 institutions by total NS publications, the United States claimed five places, China Mainland secured three, and the United Kingdom took two, together forming the world's leading tier of research-intensive universities. Harvard University remained the clear leader with 139 papers, including 87 in Nature and 52 in Science. Remarkably, 135 of these publications listed Harvard as the corresponding-author institution, meaning Harvard researchers served as corresponding authors on nearly every paper. This demonstrates the university's exceptional ability not only to participate in high-impact international collaborations but also to lead them. Stanford University (96 papers) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (93 papers) ranked second and third, respectively. With 65 NS papers, the University of California, Berkeley placed fourth globally. Although its overall output trails the top three institutions, Berkeley remains the only university among the top 15 whose Science publications (36) exceeded its Nature publications (29), reflecting its long-standing strengths in astrophysics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology. Another U.S. institution, the University of Washington Seattle, ranked tenth with 39 NS papers. Beyond the leading institutions, the United States continues to demonstrate remarkable depth in research excellence. Among the 30 universities worldwide that published more than 20 NS papers, 18 are located in the United States, accounting for more than half of the total and reinforcing the country's dominant position in global scientific research. Among universities in China Mainland, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences ranked fifth globally with 53 papers, making it the highest-ranked institution outside the United States. Tsinghua University followed in sixth place with 46 papers, while Peking University published 40 papers, ranking ninth globally. Universities in China Mainland have firmly established themselves as the world's second-largest research force after the United States. Their combined publication output now significantly exceeds that of traditional research powers such as the United Kingdom and Germany, with 13 universities producing more than 10 NS papers over the past year. In the United Kingdom, the University of Cambridge published 45 NS papers, while the University of Oxford published 42, ranking seventh and eighth, respectively. Both institutions continue to demonstrate the leadership capabilities that have made Europe's top universities globally influential in initiating and directing major scientific research projects. Europe's broader research landscape remains distinguished by both depth and diversity. While numerous universities contribute consistently to Nature and Science, few individual institutions match the publication scale of Harvard or MIT. In Switzerland, ETH Zurich ranked 15th globally with 32 papers, while École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) produced 14 papers. In the United Kingdom, Imperial College London (21 papers) and University College London (17 papers) also maintained strong publication records. Germany's LMU Munich (13 papers), Technical University of Munich (13 papers), and Humboldt University of Berlin (11 papers), together with France's Paris Sciences et Lettres University (14 papers) and Université Paris Cité (12 papers), collectively represent the core strength of continental Europe's research ecosystem. Methodology For Nature, only publications classified as Article and Review Article were included. For Science, the analysis includes Research Article, Special-Issue Research Article, and Review. The study covers papers formally published between June 18, 2025, and June 18, 2026. Only the physically affiliated first author was counted as the first author. All corresponding-author affiliations were included, with each affiliated institution counted once. If the first-author institution and the corresponding-author institution were the same, the publication was counted only once for that institution. Only formally published articles were included in the analysis. Advance online publications and papers in pre-publication status were excluded.
Australia Holds Student Cap Amid Visa Fee Hikes
The Australian Government has confirmed that it will maintain its National Planning Level (NPL) for international student commencements at 295,000 in 2027, signalling a continued focus on managing the country's international education sector while ensuring long-term stability. The announcement was made by Education Minister Jason Clare, Skills Minister Andrew Giles, and Assistant Minister for International Education Julian Hill as part of the Government's 2027 International Education Settings. The 2027 cap remains unchanged from 2026 and sits 8% below the immediate post-pandemic peak in international student commencements. Government data suggests enrolments are already tracking below the cap. International student commencements in 2026 are currently 8% lower than the same period in 2025 and 13% below 2019 levels, indicating that current demand remains well within the planning framework. "International education is an incredibly important export industry for Australia, but we need to manage it sustainably," Education Minister Jason Clare said. "This is about making sure international education supports students, universities and the national interest." Regional Universities to Retain Strong AllocationsUnder the 2027 settings, all active international education providers will receive at least their current allocation of international student places. The Government said the policy preserves the stronger allocations granted to regional universities during last year's distribution process, helping spread the economic and educational benefits of international education across the country. Beginning in 2027, responsibility for allocating international student places among higher education providers will shift to the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC), while the Government will continue to determine the overall National Planning Level. ATEC has been operating in an interim capacity since July 2025. During the previous allocation round, the commission prioritized programs aligned with Australia's workforce shortages—including nursing and information technology—while tightening allocations for high-demand courses such as business degrees at the country's Group of Eight universities. Beyond student allocations, ATEC is also tasked with coordinating support for regional institutions, overseeing tuition fee settings, and aligning education policy with Australia's broader migration and skills agenda. Student Visa Fees Increase for the Third Time Since 2024The release of the 2027 international education framework comes alongside another increase in Australia's student visa application charges. Last week, the Government announced a 25% increase in fees for Student and Temporary Graduate visas, raising the application charge for the Subclass 500 Student Visa to AUD 2,500. The changes also introduce a separate AUD 2,050 application fee for standalone English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS). Lower visa fees will apply to applicants from ASEAN member states and those undertaking non-award courses, while existing concessions for students from Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste will remain in place. The latest increase marks the third rise in Australia's student visa application charge since 2024. The sector has expressed growing concern over the cumulative impact of higher visa costs. According to English Australia, the national peak body representing Australia's English-language education sector, the increase in the student visa application charge from AUD 710 to AUD 1,600 in July 2024 led to a 38% decline in visa applications for independent ELICOS providers. A second increase—to AUD 2,000 in July 2025—was followed by another 25% drop in applications. Combined with historically low student visa approval rates for independent ELICOS providers, the sector recorded its lowest application numbers on record in 2025–26, with volumes 24% below those recorded in 2005–06. The Government argues that the latest policy settings provide greater certainty for education providers while ensuring international education continues to support Australia's economic and workforce priorities. However, the combination of enrolment controls, higher visa costs, and tighter visa settings is expected to continue weighing on international student demand. Industry observers warn that these measures could make it increasingly challenging for Australia to maintain its competitive position in the global international education market, particularly as other major study destinations seek to attract a larger share of globally mobile students.
Nobel Laureate Omar M. Yaghi Joins Tsinghua Full-Time
On July 3, Tsinghua University held the appointment ceremony for Professor Omar M. Yaghi, who joins the university as a full-time chaired professor. A recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and one of the world's foremost materials chemists, Yaghi will further strengthen Tsinghua's research capabilities in chemistry and materials science. At the ceremony, Professor Yaghi reflected that his fascination with molecules began at the age of ten, and that a pure passion for science has inspired him to transcend geographical and cultural boundaries throughout his career in materials science. Today, his research focuses on global challenges including water security, carbon neutrality, and sustainable development, with the goal of addressing fundamental issues that affect humanity. Acknowledging that scientific research is rarely a smooth journey, he emphasized that science possesses a unique power to transform the unknown into discovery while cultivating curiosity, dedication, and courage in the face of challenges. By joining Tsinghua, he said, he hopes to embark on a new chapter in both research and education with renewed enthusiasm and greater ambition, working alongside colleagues to address the defining questions of our time, expand the frontiers of knowledge, and ensure that scientific innovation benefits the world. According to Tsinghua University, Professor Yaghi will lead the establishment of the University-level AI Materials Chemistry Research Center (AIMATRY). Building upon the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Chemical Engineering, the center will collaborate closely with the Institute for AI Industry Research, the Department of Computer Science and Technology, the School of Materials Science and Engineering, and other academic units. The center will develop forward-looking AI-enabled technologies for materials design and synthesis, with the goal of dramatically shortening the development cycle for new materials. By creating an intelligent, end-to-end research and development framework spanning theory, computation, R&D, and manufacturing, AIMATRY aims to overcome the efficiency limitations of traditional trial-and-error approaches and establish an independent technical standards system covering the entire lifecycle of intelligent materials. Professor Yaghi will also play a leading role in cultivating interdisciplinary talent at the intersection of artificial intelligence and materials science. Leveraging his international academic standing, he will work with leading scholars worldwide to build an integrated AI-plus-Chemistry education and research platform at Tsinghua. Through interdisciplinary curricula, small-class teaching, and hands-on research training, the platform will nurture a new generation of highly qualified researchers with expertise spanning AI, materials chemistry, and related interdisciplinary fields. Omar M. YaghiProfessor Omar M. Yaghi is the recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He is also a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Born in Amman, Jordan, in 1965, Yaghi received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1990 before undertaking postdoctoral research at Harvard University. He subsequently held faculty positions at several leading American universities and has served as the James and Neeltje Tretter Chair Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, since 2012, while also serving as a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Throughout his career, he has received numerous prestigious international honors, including the Einstein World Award of Science, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, and the Balzan Prize. Professor Yaghi's research encompasses the synthesis, structure, and properties of inorganic and organic compounds, as well as the design and construction of novel crystalline materials. He pioneered the building-block approach, which has enabled exponential growth in the discovery of new materials and generated unprecedented chemical diversity. He is the inventor of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and molecular weaving, and was the first to define the field of reticular chemistry, establishing an entirely new paradigm for materials design. To date, Professor Yaghi has published more than 300 research papers, which have collectively received over 260,000 citations. He has authored more than 30 papers in the world's leading scientific journals, including Nature and Science.
WorldHE NS Watch: Weekly University Highlights
As global competition in scientific research continues to intensify, publication output in Nature and Science has become one of the most widely recognized indicators of a university's research excellence, capacity for original innovation, and international academic influence. WorldHE continuously tracks both the latest weekly publications and annual research output in Nature and Science by universities around the world, offering timely insights into the evolving global landscape of higher education and scientific research. Click here to access the complete dataset of university NS publications. Weekly Global University NS PublicationsBetween 22 and 28 June 2026, 43 universities worldwide published research papers in Nature and Science. Universities from the United States and China Mainland each accounted for 14 institutions, substantially outpacing all other countries and regions and underscoring their strong research momentum. The United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia each had two universities represented, reflecting the continued strength of these established research nations. Among the week's most notable contributors, Tsinghua University published one paper in Nature and two papers in Science, covering optical refrigeration, harmful algal blooms, and glycan structural biology. Harvard University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Tokyo each published two papers across the two journals. Global University NS Rankings: The Past 12 MonthsAccording to WorldHE's tracking of publications between 28 June 2025 and 28 June 2026, 71 universities worldwide published at least 10 papers in Nature and Science. Among the top 10 institutions by total NS publications, the United States claimed five places, China Mainland secured three, and the United Kingdom took two, together forming the world's leading group of research-intensive universities. Harvard University ranked first by a considerable margin with 143 papers, including 90 in Nature and 53 in Science. Remarkably, 139 of these publications listed Harvard as the corresponding-author institution, meaning Harvard researchers served as corresponding authors on nearly every paper. This highlights the university's exceptional ability not only to participate in high-impact international collaborations but also to lead them. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (96 papers) and Stanford University (94 papers) ranked second and third, respectively. With 64 NS papers, the University of California, Berkeley placed fourth globally. Although its overall output trails the top three institutions, Berkeley stands out as the only university among the top 15 whose Science publications (36) exceeded its Nature publications (28), reflecting its long-standing strengths in astrophysics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology. The University of California, Los Angeles produced 39 NS papers, tying for ninth place. Beyond the very top institutions, the depth of the U.S. research system remains equally striking. Among the 31 universities worldwide that published more than 20 NS papers, 18 are located in the United States, accounting for more than half of the total and reinforcing the country's dominant position in global scientific research. Among universities in China Mainland, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences ranked fifth globally with 52 papers, making it the highest-ranked institution outside the United States. Tsinghua University followed in sixth place with 46 papers, while Peking University published 39 papers, tying with the University of California, Los Angeles for ninth. Universities in China Mainland have firmly established themselves as the world's second-largest research force after the United States. Their combined publication output now significantly exceeds that of traditional research powers such as the United Kingdom and Germany, with 13 universities producing more than 10 NS papers over the past year. In the United Kingdom, both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge published 42 NS papers, tying for seventh place. Both institutions also recorded exceptionally high corresponding-author ratios (Oxford: 41 of 42 papers; Cambridge: 40 of 42), underscoring their strong leadership in initiating and directing internationally influential research projects. Europe's broader research landscape remains distinguished by both depth and diversity. While numerous universities contribute consistently to Nature and Science, few individual institutions match the publication scale of Harvard or MIT. In Switzerland, ETH Zurich ranked 13th globally with 35 papers, while École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) produced 15 papers. In the United Kingdom, Imperial College London (20 papers) and University College London (17 papers) also maintained solid performances. Germany's LMU Munich (13 papers), Technical University of Munich (12 papers), and Humboldt University of Berlin (11 papers), together with France's Paris Sciences et Lettres University (16 papers) and Paris-Saclay University (10 papers), collectively represent the core strength of continental Europe's research ecosystem. Click here to access the complete dataset of university NS publications. Methodology For Nature, only publications classified as Article and Review Article were included. For Science, the analysis includes Research Article, Special-Issue Research Article, and Review. The study covers papers formally published between June 18, 2025, and June 18, 2026. Only the physically affiliated first author was counted as the first author. All corresponding-author affiliations were included, with each affiliated institution counted once. If the first-author institution and the corresponding-author institution were the same, the publication was counted only once for that institution. Only formally published articles were included in the analysis. Advance online publications and papers in pre-publication status were excluded.
IIT Bombay to Establish First Overseas Campus in US
On 26 June 2026, during a virtual meeting between Professor Shireesh Kedare, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), and Dr. Timothy E. Sams, President of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury, the two institutions announced a landmark academic partnership. The announcement was made in the presence of Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon'ble Union Minister of Education, Government of India; Dr. Vineet Joshi, Secretary of Higher Education, Government of India; and Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Ambassador of India to the United States. Under this partnership, IIT Bombay and SUNY Old Westbury will collaborate to develop new educational and research opportunities at SUNY Old Westbury's campus on Long Island, New York. The collaboration will be formalized through a Letter of Intent signed by Professor Shireesh Kedare and Dr. Timothy E. Sams in the presence of Consul General Binaya S. Pradhan. The two institutions will work together to develop academic programs across undergraduate, postgraduate, and research levels in science and engineering, with an initial focus on emerging fields such as artificial intelligence. They will also establish a framework for collaborative research initiatives. "IIT Bombay is recognized as a world-class institution," said Dr. Timothy E. Sams, President of SUNY Old Westbury. "We are excited to establish a direct partnership that advances excellence in teaching, innovation, and research in disciplines such as physics and engineering. Our goal is to build a strong IIT Bombay presence on our campus and, together, prepare the next generation of leaders who will drive innovation and economic growth across our region, our state, our nation, and the world." The initial phase of cooperation is expected to include faculty and researcher exchanges, joint research projects, and the organization of joint conferences and academic symposia. These activities will lay the foundation for the future development of joint academic programs and degree offerings. India's Minister of Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, welcomed the partnership, describing it as "a living corridor of knowledge between India and the United States." He noted that the collaboration would create "win-win opportunities" for students and scholars in both countries while advancing research and innovation in frontier technologies. According to media reports, IIT Bombay will establish its first overseas sub-campus in the United States through this partnership with SUNY Old Westbury. The first certificate programs are expected to be launched in 2027. The proposed sub-campus will enable IIT Bombay to deliver its academic programs from the SUNY Old Westbury campus. Speaking at a virtual press conference, Professor Shireesh Kedare explained, "Establishing an entirely new campus in the United States would have required land acquisition and multiple regulatory approvals. By partnering with an existing American university, we can bypass these administrative processes and focus our efforts on developing high-quality academic programs." The initial certificate programs will focus on artificial intelligence, sustainability, and clean technologies. Over time, the collaboration is expected to expand to undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programs in science and engineering, serving students from the United States, India, and around the world. About IIT BombayEstablished in 1958 as the second Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Bombay is internationally recognized as one of India's premier institutions for science, engineering, technology, and research. On 9 July 2018, the Government of India conferred upon IIT Bombay the status of an Institution of Eminence, recognizing its outstanding academic and research achievements. IIT Bombay is renowned for its distinguished faculty, world-class research, strong industry partnerships, and the exceptional quality of its graduates. The Institute comprises 81 academic departments, centres, and interdisciplinary programmes. Over the past six decades, it has educated more than 75,000 engineers, scientists, and technology professionals. The Institute is home to approximately 760 full-time faculty members, including 121 women faculty, in addition to 241 part-time faculty members. Its faculty are widely recognized both nationally and internationally for their excellence in teaching, research, and innovation.
ERC Awards €838 Million to 319 Researchers
Recently, the European Research Council (ERC) announced the recipients of its latest Advanced Grant competition. A total of €838 million in funding will be awarded to 319 leading researchers across Europe. The ERC Advanced Grant is one of the most prestigious and competitive research funding schemes in the European Union and its associated countries. It enables established senior researchers to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects with the potential to deliver major scientific breakthroughs. The grants are funded under the EU's Horizon Europe programme. The newly funded projects span a broad range of disciplines. They include research into why individuals differ in their susceptibility to drug addiction, ways to extend women's fertility and improve reproductive health, and the neural mechanisms underlying stuttering. Other projects aim to develop novel mathematical and algorithmic tools to address the increasing complexity of large-scale networks, ranging from transportation systems to the internet, while another seeks to deepen our understanding of complex systems in mathematics and physics, from magnetic materials to quantum materials. The new grantees will be hosted by universities and research institutions in 24 EU Member States and associated countries, with the largest numbers based in the United Kingdom (62 grants), Germany (46), Switzerland (32), Spain (29), and France (26). Among the awardees are 52 German, 45 British, and 29 Italian researchers, along with researchers representing 30 other nationalities. The United Kingdom received the highest number of grants of any participating country. A record 3,329 proposals were submitted to this year's competition, representing a 31% increase over last year's 2,534 applications. Of these, 9.6% were selected for funding. The ERC estimates that the newly awarded grants will create more than 3,000 jobs within the research teams of the successful applicants. According to official announcements from the respective universities, four senior researchers at the University of Cambridge received ERC Advanced Grants, while LMU Munich secured three grants and Heidelberg University was awarded two grants. Prof. Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council, commented: "The new Advanced Grant projects demonstrate the creativity, ambition, and intellectual boldness that frontier research requires. The ERC's role is to support researchers who are asking difficult scientific questions and are willing to venture into unexplored territory in pursuit of new knowledge. Congratulations to all our new grantees. They represent 33 different nationalities—a testament to Europe's strength as a destination for outstanding scientific talent, regardless of origin. We must increase investment if Europe is to lead in science and innovation." About the ERCEstablished by the European Union in 2007, the European Research Council (ERC) is Europe's leading funding organization for frontier research. It supports outstanding researchers of any nationality and age to carry out investigator-driven research projects at host institutions across Europe. The ERC operates four principal funding schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants, and Synergy Grants. In addition, its Proof of Concept Grants help ERC-funded researchers bridge the gap between pioneering research and the early stages of commercialization. The ERC is governed by an independent Scientific Council. For the 2021–2027 funding period, the ERC has an overall budget of more than €16 billion under the Horizon Europe programme, which falls under the responsibility of Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation.
Johns Hopkins Lays Off 110 Employees Amid Federal Funding Decline
Recently, a spokesperson for Johns Hopkins University confirmed that the university has laid off approximately 110 employees in response to cuts in federal research funding. The latest round of layoffs was described as a last resort and primarily affected administrative staff. In a statement, Johns Hopkins University said: "As our federal research portfolio shrinks, the infrastructure around it must change in parallel. Last year, we implemented significant cost-management initiatives including a hiring freeze, pausing annual increases for anyone making over $80,000, reducing discretionary spending, eliminating vacant positions, and reducing our five-year capital project spending by 20%." In March 2025, the university announced the layoff of 2,200 employees, most of whom were based overseas, in direct response to the administration's unilateral dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Further ReadingAccording to Johns Hopkins University, the institution has been the nation's leading recipient of federal research funding every year since 1979. In fiscal year 2024, every dollar invested in research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) generated approximately $2.56 in economic activity. However, in a 2026 letter to the university community, JHU President Ron Daniels noted that: "The total outstanding value of our multiyear federal research portfolio had declined by more than $500 million in calendar year 2025. This was due in part to our receiving 43% less in federal research funding and 28% fewer awards than in the previous year. Unfortunately, as we approach the midpoint of 2026, these downward trends have continued unabated." To help offset the impact of federal grant terminations and funding delays, the university will invest $60 million annually over the next two years to support faculty members pursuing new research and academic initiatives, as well as PhD students and postdoctoral scholars as they complete their training. The program is open to all research disciplines that have historically relied on competitively awarded federal grants. In addition, this June, Johns Hopkins University and West Virginia University announced a new partnership to bring together researchers from both institutions to tackle complex challenges in health, science, and society, while strengthening faculty teams' competitiveness for future external research funding. At the center of the partnership is the JHU–WVU Research Collaborative, a three-year, $7 million initiative funded through philanthropic support. The program is designed to help faculty teams launch new interdisciplinary research collaborations and compete for larger external funding opportunities.
Global NS Rankings: Harvard Leads, China Mainland Rises
Against the backdrop of intensifying global competition in scientific research, publications in Nature and Science have become one of the most important indicators of a university's capacity for original innovation and international academic influence. Based on publication data from universities worldwide between June 18, 2025, and June 18, 2026, WorldHE has conducted a comprehensive analysis of institutional performance in Nature and Science (NS), providing insights into the evolving landscape of global higher education and scientific research. The World's Leading Universities in NS PublicationsAmong the world's top 10 universities by total NS publications over the past year, the United States accounts for six institutions, China Mainland for three, and the United Kingdom for two, forming the first tier of global excellence in high-impact scientific research. Harvard University ranked first by a substantial margin with 143 NS papers, including 91 in Nature and 52 in Science. Harvard scholars served as corresponding authors on 140 of these papers, meaning that nearly every publication was led by a Harvard researcher. This highlights the university's exceptional capacity to independently drive frontier scientific research. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ranked second with 98 papers, followed by Stanford University with 95. The University of California, Berkeley placed fourth with 64 NS papers. Although its total output was lower than that of the top three institutions, Berkeley distinguished itself as the only university among the global top 15 where Science publications (35) outnumbered Nature publications (29), reflecting its longstanding strengths in astrophysics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology. Among universities in China Mainland, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) ranked fifth globally with 52 papers, making it the highest-ranked institution outside the United States. Tsinghua University followed in sixth place with 46 papers, while Peking University ranked ninth with 41. The United Kingdom's University of Oxford (43 papers) and University of Cambridge (42 papers) ranked seventh and eighth, respectively. Both universities recorded exceptionally high proportions of papers with institutional corresponding authors (Oxford: 41 of 43; Cambridge: 41 of 42), demonstrating their strong capability to lead major international research projects and shape global scientific agendas. Rounding out the global top ten, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Washington, Seattle tied for tenth place with 39 NS papers each. Overall, 70 universities worldwide published at least 10 NS papers during the one-year period. Beyond the global top ten, the University of California, San Francisco, Princeton University, ETH Zurich, Cornell University, and Yale University each produced more than 30 NS papers, further demonstrating their outstanding research performance. The Global Research LandscapeAt the national and regional level, the United States remains the undisputed global leader in high-impact scientific research. In addition to world-leading institutions such as Harvard, MIT, and Stanford, it also possesses remarkable depth across its broader higher education system. Among the 31 universities worldwide that published more than 20 NS papers, 18 are located in the United States, accounting for well over half of the total. Perhaps even more striking is the exceptionally high proportion of publications led by U.S. institutions as corresponding authors. For example, Stanford served as the corresponding institution on 90 of its 95 papers, while the University of Washington was the corresponding institution on all 39 of its publications. These figures demonstrate that the United States is not only the world's largest producer of high-impact scientific research but also its principal intellectual leader, maintaining unparalleled influence over the direction and leadership of major international research initiatives. Universities in China Mainland have firmly established themselves as the world's second research powerhouse. Their overall NS output now significantly surpasses that of traditional scientific powers such as the United Kingdom and Germany, with 12 universities in China Mainland publishing at least 10 NS papers during the reporting period. Universities in China Mainland also display a clear preference for publishing in Nature, with Nature papers generally outnumbering those in Science. This pattern reflects the region's long-established strengths in physics, chemistry, materials science, and nanoscience. Meanwhile, the proportion of papers with institutions from China Mainland serving as corresponding authors has increased markedly, indicating that researchers from China Mainland are assuming increasingly prominent leadership roles in international scientific collaborations. Europe's research ecosystem, by contrast, is characterized by its breadth and diversity. While many European universities make notable contributions to NS publications, few possess the scale of research output seen at institutions such as Harvard or MIT. In Switzerland, ETH Zurich ranked 13th globally with 35 NS papers, while École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) also delivered a strong performance with 15 papers. In the United Kingdom, beyond Oxford and Cambridge, Imperial College London (20 papers) and University College London (UCL) (17 papers) maintained consistently high levels of output. Germany's leading contributors include LMU Munich (13 papers), the Technical University of Munich (12), and Humboldt University of Berlin (11). In France, PSL University (16 papers) and Paris-Saclay University (10 papers) represent the core of the country's research strength, together forming an important pillar of continental Europe's scientific landscape. Methodology For Nature, only publications classified as Article and Review Article were included. For Science, the analysis includes Research Article, Special-Issue Research Article, and Review. The study covers papers formally published between June 18, 2025, and June 18, 2026. Only the physically affiliated first author was counted as the first author. All corresponding-author affiliations were included, with each affiliated institution counted once. If the first-author institution and the corresponding-author institution were the same, the publication was counted only once for that institution. Only formally published articles were included in the analysis. Advance online publications and papers in pre-publication status were excluded.
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