Weekly Analysis: Nature, Science Output Concentrates Among Elite Universities

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 18 to May 24, 2026, a total of 15 universities ranked within the top 200 of the QS World University Rankings published papers in Nature and Science. These 15 universities were from the United States (10), China (2), as well as the United Kingdom (1), Germany (1), and Australia (1).

Among them, Stanford University, Harvard University, Peking University, New York University, University of Washington, and University of California, Santa Barbara each published 2 papers in either Nature or Science.

Notably, Heidelberg University in Germany and Arizona State University in the United States each published their first Nature or Science paper of 2026 during this period.

Expanding the time frame to January 1–May 24, 2026, a total of 100 universities ranked within the top 200 of the QS World University Rankings had published papers in Nature and Science. These included 35 U.S. universities, maintaining their dominant position at the core of global scientific output; 14 Chinese universities, firmly securing the second tier; and 13 U.K. universities, sustaining Europe’s leading position.

Among these 100 universities, 16 institutions published 10 or more papers. Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked first with 39 papers, including 27 in Nature and 12 in Science, while also leading globally in Nature publications. Stanford University followed closely with 35 papers, including 20 in Nature and 15 in Science, making it the university with the highest number of Science publications.

Harvard University (26 papers), Peking University (22 papers), Tsinghua University (19 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, Yale University, University of Oxford, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Zhejiang University, and University of Washington.

The Nature and Science output of these 16 universities accounted for half of all publications produced by QS top 200 universities, demonstrating that global research resources and high-impact scientific achievements are becoming increasingly concentrated among elite institutions. Among them, 9 U.S. universities published a combined total of 165 papers, 5 Chinese universities published a combined total of 82 papers, and 2 U.K. universities published a combined total of 24 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 24, 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 May 24, 2026.