Weekly Analysis: 6 QS 200 Universities Debut in Nature, Science 2026

The number of papers published in Nature and Science is widely recognized as one of the key indicators for measuring the international research influence of universities.

During the period from May 4 to May 10, 2026, a total of 19 universities ranked within the top 200 of the QS World University Rankings published papers in Nature and Science. These 19 universities were from the United States (9), the United Kingdom (4), China (2), the Netherlands (2), as well as Japan (1) and Austria (1).

Among them, Harvard University published 2 papers, including 1 in Nature and 1 in Science. University of Bristol, Kyoto University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of California, Davis, University of Southern California, and University of York each recorded their first publication in Nature or Science in 2026.

Expanding the time frame to January 1 to May 10, 2026, a total of 94 universities ranked within the top 200 of the QS World University Rankings had published 455 papers in Nature and Science. Among them, 32 U.S. universities published 226 papers, maintaining their dominant position in global scientific output; 14 Chinese universities published 113 papers, firmly securing second place; and 13 U.K. universities published 41 papers, sustaining Europe’s leading position.

Among these 94 universities, 12 institutions published 10 or more papers. Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked first with 37 papers, including 25 in Nature and 12 in Science. Stanford University followed closely with 32 papers, including 20 in Nature and 12 in Science. Together, these two universities alone accounted for 15% of all published papers.

Harvard University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and the University of Science and Technology of China each published 15 or more papers, forming the second tier. Other universities with notable output included University of Cambridge (14 papers), Cornell University (12 papers), University of California, Berkeley (11 papers), University of Pennsylvania (10 papers), and Zhejiang University (10 papers).

These 12 universities published a combined total of 217 papers, accounting for 47.7% of all publications from QS top 200 universities, highlighting a highly concentrated distribution of research output among leading institutions. Among them, 6 U.S. universities published 126 papers, 5 Chinese universities published 77 papers, and the sole U.K. representative, University of Cambridge, published 14 papers. Although the average output of top U.S. universities remains higher than that of Chinese institutions, Chinese universities have demonstrated a clear trend of collective breakthroughs in top-tier journals.

Below is the list of QS top 200 universities that published 2 or more papers in Nature and Science between January 1 and May 10, 2026.

Notes: QS 2026 top 200; Nature: Article, Review Article; Science: Research Article, Review, Special-Issue Research Article; first and/or corresponding author affiliations; each unique institution counted once per paper; print issues only; data through April 26, 2026.