Weekly Analysis: 19 QS Top 200 Universities Publish Nature, Science

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 11 to May 17, 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 (10), China (2), the United Kingdom (2), Switzerland (2), as well as Canada (1), Japan (1), and South Korea (1).

Among them, Duke University published 2 papers in Nature, while the other 18 universities each published 1 paper in either Nature or Science. Notably, Brown University in the United States, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in South Korea, and Kyushu University in Japan each published their first Nature or Science paper of 2026 during this period.

Expanding the time frame to January 1 to May 17, 2026, a total of 98 universities ranked within the top 200 of the QS World University Rankings had published 481 papers in Nature and Science. Among them, 34 U.S. universities published 243 papers, maintaining their dominant position in global scientific output; 14 Chinese universities published 115 papers, firmly securing second place; and 13 U.K. universities published 43 papers, sustaining Europe’s leading position.

Among these 98 universities, 14 institutions published 10 or more papers. Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked first with 38 papers, including 26 in Nature and 12 in Science, while also leading globally in Nature publications. Stanford University followed closely with 33 papers, including 20 in Nature and 13 in Science, making it the university with the highest number of Science publications.

Harvard University (24 papers), Peking University (20 papers), Tsinghua University (18 papers), the University of Science and Technology of China (16 papers), and Fudan University (15 papers) each published 15 or more papers, forming the second tier.

Other universities with 10 or more Nature and Science papers included the University of Cambridge, Cornell University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, Princeton University, and Zhejiang University.

These 14 universities published a combined total of 242 papers, accounting for 50.3% of all publications from QS top 200 universities, highlighting a highly concentrated distribution of research output among leading institutions. Among them, 8 U.S. universities published 149 papers, 5 Chinese universities published 79 papers, and the sole U.K. representative, the 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 17, 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.