As two of the world’s most influential and authoritative multidisciplinary scientific journals, Nature and Science have long served as leading platforms for publishing major scientific discoveries and breakthrough research. WorldHE continuously tracks university publication data in Nature and Science, offering a dynamic view of the shifting landscape of global higher education and research. In August 2026, the pace of university publications in Nature and Science eased from the more intensive activity seen in July, with 121 universities worldwide publishing NS papers during the month. However, leading research institutions continued to demonstrate strong and consistent output. Two universities published more than 10 NS papers, while three maintained a steady rhythm of publishing NS papers every week in August. The role of top universities as the “anchor” of competition in leading scientific journals is becoming increasingly pronounced. 121 Universities Published NS Papers in AugustThe 121 universities publishing NS papers in August were spread across 22 countries. The United States accounted for 46 institutions, while China accounted for 34, including 31 universities in China Mainland and three in Hong Kong, China. Together, the two countries accounted for nearly 70% of both the universities represented and total paper output, further consolidating their dominant “dual-core” position in global top-journal publishing. Europe’s deep foundations in basic research continued to underpin the strong performance of the United Kingdom, with six universities represented, and Germany, with four. In Asia, Japan contributed five universities and South Korea two, highlighting their considerable potential to emerge as new growth poles in global scientific research. The top three universities in August remained unchanged from July, with all three spots occupied by U.S. institutions. Harvard University retained the monthly lead with 12 NS papers, including 10 in Nature. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) followed with 11 papers, also including 10 in Nature. The two universities jointly ranked first worldwide for Nature publications in August and were the only institutions to publish more than 10 NS papers during the month. Stanford University ranked third with eight NS papers, including six in Science, the highest Science output among universities worldwide in August. With consistently high monthly output, the three institutions form a strong and stable top tier in global research publishing. Following the top three, Fudan University, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the University of Cambridge each published four NS papers, forming the second tier. Fudan University maintained a balanced output, with two papers each in Nature and Science. The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and UCSF each published three Science papers, while all four of Cambridge’s publications appeared in Nature, reflecting the institutions’ distinct strengths and publication strategies across their respective fields. In July, Cambridge and the University of California, Berkeley published eight and seven NS papers, respectively. Although their output fell to four and three papers in August, the two institutions continued to maintain relatively stable publication activity as overall research output slowed, demonstrating the resilience of leading universities in the competition for publication in top-tier journals. August HighlightsSeveral universities demonstrated distinctive strengths in the August NS rankings. Harvard, MIT and Stanford were the only three universities to publish papers in Nature or Science every week throughout August, demonstrating highly consistent research output. Harvard and MIT maintained particularly strong momentum during the first two weeks of the month, with several publications involving the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, spanning cutting-edge areas of biotechnology and reinforcing the institute’s position as one of the world’s leading research centers in the field. Stanford saw a surge in output during the third week of August, publishing one Nature paper and two Science papers. All three listed Stanford as the corresponding-author institution. In the final week of August, Cambridge emerged strongly, publishing three Nature papers as both the first-author and corresponding-author institution. The studies covered a range of interdisciplinary research areas, including palaeoentomology, condensed matter physics, and meiotic recombination mechanisms. In terms of research leadership, most universities publishing in August were represented as corresponding-author institutions. Several universities—including UCSF, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Melbourne—achieved full leadership across all of their publications, serving as both the first-author and corresponding-author institution for every paper. This highlights their strong leadership in research organization, resource integration, and international collaboration. MethodologyFor Nature, the analysis includes articles classified as Article and Review Article. For Science, the included article types are Special-Issue Research Article, Research Article, and Review. Each affiliation of the first author and corresponding author is counted once. Where the first-author and corresponding-author affiliations belong to the same institution, they are counted only once. The analysis includes only formally published papers and excludes articles in advance online or pre-publication status. Further ReadingWorldHE NS Watch: 165 Universities Published in Nature and Science in July Global Nature and Science Leaders, H1 2026
Against the backdrop of intensifying global competition in scientific research, publication output in Nature and Science has become one of the key benchmarks for evaluating universities’ capacity for original innovation and their international academic influence. WorldHE continuously tracks the latest weekly and rolling 12-month Nature and Science publication data from universities worldwide, offering a dynamic view of the evolving global higher education and research landscape. Click here to access the complete university NS publication data. Global University NS Publications: August 17–23, 2026Global university output in Nature and Science returned to a high level last week, with 47 universities worldwide publishing NS papers. Among them, 15 universities were from the United States, significantly ahead of other countries and regions. China Mainland accounted for 10 universities, maintaining its strong position in high-impact research output. Stanford University delivered a particularly strong performance, publishing one Nature paper and two Science papers, with Stanford serving as the corresponding-author institution on all three publications. University of Bristol, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Shanghai Jiao Tong University each published two NS papers during the week. Global University NS Rankings: August 23, 2025–August 23, 2026Over the past 12 months, 66 universities worldwide have published at least 10 papers in Nature or Science, highlighting the increasingly intense competition among the world’s leading research institutions. Among the Top 10 universities by combined NS output, the United States accounts for six universities, while three universities from China Mainland maintain their positions. The United Kingdom has one university in the global Top 10. Harvard University remains the clear global leader with 146 papers, including 95 in Nature and 51 in Science. Harvard ranks first among all universities in publication output in both journals. It was also the corresponding-author institution on 144 papers, meaning Harvard researchers served as corresponding authors on nearly every publication, demonstrating an exceptionally strong capacity for independently leading high-impact research. MIT has also surpassed the 100-paper mark, with 106 papers, ranking second globally. Stanford University followed closely with 93 papers. Together, Harvard, MIT, and Stanford form an elite research cluster approaching or exceeding the 100-paper level. The University of California, Berkeley ranked fourth with 66 NS papers. Although its overall output remains below that of the top three, Berkeley is the only university in the global Top 10 to publish more Science papers (34) than Nature papers (32). The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, a university in China Mainland, ranked fifth globally with 56 papers, making it the highest-ranked non-U.S. university. The University of Cambridge ranked sixth with 47 papers, making it the only UK university in the global Top 10. Tsinghua University ranked seventh with 45 papers, followed by Peking University with 43. Two universities in the University of California system—UC San Francisco and UCLA—tied for ninth with 38 papers each. Click here to access the complete university NS publication data. MethodologyFor Nature, only publications classified as Article and Review Article were included. For Science, the analysis includes Research Article, Special-Issue Research Article, and Review. 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.
The U.S. higher education workforce contracted sharply in 2025, with both full-time and part-time staff headcounts falling significantly from the previous year, according to the latest data from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). CUPA-HR’s latest report, The Size of the Higher Ed Workforce Changes, shows a sharp reversal from the workforce growth recorded in 2024. Full-time staff headcount fell 6.6% in 2025, ending a multiyear period of growth that peaked at 6.5% in 2024. The decline was even steeper among part-time employees, whose headcount plunged 23.9% in 2025. That followed an unprecedented 21.1% increase in 2024. The sharp reversal highlights the greater volatility of part-time employment in higher education compared with full-time positions. It also suggests that colleges and universities broadly reduced staffing levels in 2025, with part-time employees bearing the brunt of the cuts. Faculty employment, however, moved in the opposite direction, with headcounts increasing across all categories. The most notable growth came among tenure-track faculty, whose numbers rose 7.0% from the previous year. That marked the largest single-year increase since 2016 and represented a significant acceleration from the 1.1% growth recorded in 2024. Meanwhile, growth among non-tenure-track faculty slowed to 2.1%, down from 3.6% the previous year. It was the first time in the decade covered by the data that the growth rate for tenure-track faculty surpassed that of non-tenure-track faculty. Adjunct faculty also saw modest growth in 2025, with headcount increasing 0.9%. That marked a second consecutive year of slow but steady growth, following a 0.3% increase in 2024. CUPA-HR’s latest figures are based on data collected as of November 1, 2025. The trend may have continued into 2026, as many colleges and universities have continued to reduce their workforces in an effort to address projected budget deficits for fiscal year 2027. In June, Johns Hopkins University eliminated approximately 110 positions as it responded to cuts in federal research funding. The university described the layoffs as a “last resort,” with most of the affected employees working in administrative roles. In a statement, Johns Hopkins said that as the scale of federally funded research programs continues to shrink, the infrastructure and support systems built around those programs must also be adjusted. The university had already implemented a series of significant cost-cutting measures last year, including a hiring freeze, suspending annual salary increases for employees earning more than $80,000, reducing nonessential spending, eliminating vacant positions, and cutting planned capital spending by 20% over the next five years. With colleges and universities still under pressure from shrinking federal research funding, tighter budgets and rising operating costs, the U.S. higher education workforce could contract further in 2027.
In October, the annual Nobel Prize announcements will once again take center stage. Ahead of the Nobel Prize season, WorldHE will continue to examine a series of prestigious international awards widely regarded as “Nobel indicators” because of the significant overlap between their recipients and subsequent Nobel laureates. The aim is to answer a simple question: Which universities win the most of these awards—and therefore appear best positioned to produce future Nobel laureates? Previously, WorldHE analyzed the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics, which carries prize money of up to $3 million. This time, we turn to the Sloan Research Fellowships. 59 Sloan Fellows Have Gone on to Win Nobel PrizesIn February this year, the Sloan Foundation announced its 2026 Sloan Research Fellows. A total of 126 early-career scientists from 44 universities and research institutions in the United States and Canada were selected. Each fellow receives a $75,000 award, which can be used flexibly over two years to support research-related expenses. Since the first awards were presented in 1955, the Sloan Research Fellowships have focused on scholars at an early stage of their careers, placing particular emphasis on their innovative potential and future impact. The program seeks to identify researchers who may bring transformative advances to their fields and is widely regarded as one of the highest honors available to early-career researchers. This forward-looking approach—essentially an investment in scientific talent before its full impact becomes apparent—has allowed the program to follow generations of researchers from emerging scholars to scientific leaders. It has also earned the Sloan Fellowship a reputation as a “Nobel indicator.” To date, 59 Sloan Fellows have gone on to receive Nobel Prizes. Among them is Karl Sharpless, who won the Nobel Prize twice. Last year’s Nobel Prize in Physics laureate John Clarke, for example, received a Sloan Fellowship in Physics in 1970. Notably, for 10 consecutive years from 2016 through 2025, every cohort of Nobel laureates included at least one former Sloan Fellow. Among the 59 Nobel laureates who previously received Sloan Fellowships, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) leads with seven, followed by the University of California, Berkeley, with six. The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Princeton University each have five. The Sloan network has also produced recipients of several other major academic honors. Its alumni include 19 Fields Medalists, 10 Abel Prize winners, 26 John Bates Clark Medal recipients, and 72 National Medal of Science recipients. This year’s new Fields Medalists, Jacob Tsimerman and Yu Deng, were Sloan Fellows in Mathematics in 2015 and 2021, respectively. Because Nobel Prizes are often awarded decades after the underlying research breakthroughs, there is typically a substantial time lag between a researcher’s early-career recognition and eventual Nobel recognition. The Sloan-to-Nobel trajectory shows a similar lag of roughly two decades. With this in mind, WorldHE examined 20 years of Sloan Fellowship data, from 2006 through 2026, to gain a more focused view of the potential future Nobel talent pipeline and identify the universities with the highest concentration of researchers who may eventually become Nobel laureates. During this period, the Sloan program awarded fellowships to 2,589 researchers across nine fields: Chemistry, Computational & Evolutionary Molecular Biology, Computer Science, Earth System Science, Economics, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Ocean Sciences, and Physics. The program has since consolidated these into seven fields, with Computational & Evolutionary Molecular Biology and Ocean Sciences currently no longer being awarded as standalone categories. By total number of fellows, Physics and Chemistry dominate, with 489 and 486 recipients, respectively. Mathematics ranks third with 423, followed by Computer Science with 370 and Neuroscience with 340. These five fields form the core of the Sloan landscape. The competition for top scientific talent is no longer confined to the traditional disciplines of physics, chemistry and mathematics. Computer science, neuroscience and other emerging fields have become increasingly important talent pools. In recent years, the Nobel Prizes have also increasingly reflected the growing importance of interdisciplinary research, with major breakthroughs often emerging at the boundaries between established disciplines. The 2024 Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry, for example, both recognized scientists whose foundational contributions were closely connected to artificial intelligence. This suggests that, when assessing universities’ potential to produce future Nobel-caliber researchers, interdisciplinary strength—particularly the intersection of computer science with life sciences, physics and other fields—may become an increasingly important dimension. MIT Leads the Sloan RankingsSloan Fellows must be faculty members at degree-granting institutions. As a result, of the 2,589 Sloan Fellows selected over the 20-year period, 2,566 were affiliated with universities, accounting for an overwhelming majority of recipients. MIT leads the university rankings with 138 Sloan Fellows, making it the clearest “Nobel indicator university” in the dataset. The University of California, Berkeley, follows with 124, ahead of Stanford University with 117, Princeton University with 106, and Harvard University with 105. All five universities have produced more than 100 Sloan Fellows during the period, forming a clear first tier among America’s leading research universities. The concentration is striking. The top 10 universities collectively account for 955 Sloan Fellows, or approximately 37% of all university-affiliated recipients. The Sloan talent pool is therefore highly concentrated among a relatively small group of elite research universities. At the same time, MIT, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, the University of Chicago, UCLA, UC San Diego, Columbia University and Yale University all recorded Sloan Fellows across all nine fields included in the dataset. Their strength is not based on a single discipline. Instead, these institutions have built broad research ecosystems spanning mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science, life sciences, neuroscience and economics. Different Disciplines Point to Different “Nobel Indicator” UniversitiesLooking at individual fields provides a much clearer picture of each university’s academic strengths—and offers a more targeted way to identify potential Nobel contenders by discipline. MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley and Stanford each rank among the top three universities in four fields, while MIT leads three fields outright. In Chemistry, MIT ranks first with 22 Sloan Fellows, followed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with 19, while UC Berkeley and Cornell University each have 16. In Computational & Evolutionary Molecular Biology, Stanford stands out with 13 fellows. In Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University emerges as a clear specialist leader, with 36 Sloan Fellows, ahead of Stanford with 33 and MIT with 31. Remarkably, computer science accounts for roughly two-thirds of Carnegie Mellon’s 53 Sloan Fellows overall. In Economics, the University of Chicago has a decisive lead with 25 fellows. In Mathematics, MIT, the University of Toronto and Princeton form a highly competitive top three, with 24, 20 and 19 fellows, respectively. This year’s Fields Medalist Jacob Tsimerman is affiliated with the University of Toronto. In Neuroscience, Harvard leads with 19 fellows, highlighting the university’s deep strength in the life sciences. In Physics, MIT and Caltech share the top spot with 27 fellows each, followed closely by Princeton with 26—further underscoring the strength of these institutions in fundamental science. Interestingly, the leading universities in individual Sloan fields closely mirror the traditional powerhouses of the Nobel Prizes. Princeton ranks first among universities by the number of Nobel laureates in Physics. UC Berkeley appears among the top three universities by Nobel laureates in Chemistry. Harvard leads in Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine, while the University of Chicago has a commanding lead in Economics, reflecting the enduring influence of the Chicago School of Economics. What the Sloan Data Tells Us About Future Nobel TalentNobel Prize results may be announced over just a few days each year, but the research achievements behind those prizes are built over decades. That is precisely why awards such as the Sloan Research Fellowship are worth examining as early indicators of future Nobel talent. The Sloan Fellowship is not, of course, a crystal ball. Winning a Sloan Fellowship does not guarantee a future Nobel Prize. The two awards have different selection criteria and operate on very different timescales. But the historical overlap is significant. The Sloan Fellowship identifies researchers early in their careers, when their potential is becoming visible but their most influential work may still lie ahead. The Nobel Prize, by contrast, often recognizes discoveries only after their long-term scientific impact has been established. For higher education institutions, this makes the Sloan pipeline particularly revealing. The Nobel Prize winners will be announced in October. But the next generation of potential laureates may already be visible in today’s early-career talent pipeline. Before the Nobel Prizes reveal who has reached the summit, it may be worth looking at the universities that are already cultivating the scientists most likely to climb there. Data noteThe analysis is based on institutional affiliation data for Sloan Research Fellows from 2006 through 2026, as published by the official Sloan Research Fellowship program. Some universities are listed separately in the original data due to institutional name changes or campus distinctions; these have been reasonably consolidated for the purposes of this analysis.
As global competition in scientific research continues to intensify, publication output in Nature and Science has become one of the key benchmarks for evaluating a university’s capacity for original innovation and its international academic influence. WorldHE continuously tracks the latest weekly and rolling 12-month publication data from universities worldwide, using Nature and Science output to provide a dynamic view of the evolving global higher education and research landscape. Click here to access the complete university NS publication data. Global University NS Publications: August 10–16, 2026Global university output in Nature and Science remained steady last week, with 38 universities publishing NS papers. The United States accounted for 18 of these universities, significantly ahead of other countries and regions. China Mainland accounted for eight, maintaining its strong position in global high-impact research output. Following their strong performance of five Nature papers two weeks earlier, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) continued their exceptional momentum, publishing four and three NS papers, respectively. All seven papers listed the respective university as both the first-author and corresponding-author institution. Harvard published two Nature and two Science papers, while MIT published two Nature and one Science paper. The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, jointly established by MIT and Harvard, also continued its strong performance from the previous period, publishing another Nature paper focused on experience-dependent inhibitory circuit plasticity in neurodevelopmental disorders. Meanwhile, the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Melbourne each published one Nature and one Science paper, serving as both the first-author and corresponding-author institution on their publications. Global University NS Rankings: August 16, 2025–August 16, 2026Over the past 12 months, 68 universities worldwide have published at least 10 papers in Nature or Science, underscoring the increasingly intense competition among leading research institutions. The composition of the Top 10 universities by combined NS output has shifted since the previous reporting period. The United States now accounts for six universities, up from five, while three universities from China Mainland maintain their positions. The United Kingdom has dropped to just one university in the global top 10. Harvard University remains the overwhelming global leader with 146 papers, including 95 in Nature and 51 in Science. Harvard ranks first among all universities in publication output in both journals. It was also the corresponding-author institution on 143 papers, meaning Harvard researchers served as corresponding authors on nearly every publication, highlighting the university’s exceptional capacity to independently lead high-impact research. MIT has further strengthened its position with 106 papers, ranking second globally. Stanford University followed with 92 papers. Together, Harvard, MIT, and Stanford form an elite research cluster approaching or exceeding the 100-paper mark. The University of California, Berkeley ranked fourth with 67 NS papers. Although its total output remains below the top three, Berkeley is the only university in the global top 10 to publish more Science papers (35) than Nature papers (32), reflecting its long-standing strengths in astrophysics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology. The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, a university in China Mainland, ranked fifth globally with 56 papers, making it the highest-ranked non-U.S. university. The University of Cambridge ranked sixth with 48 papers, making it the only UK university in the global top 10. Tsinghua University ranked seventh with 45 papers, followed by Peking University with 43. Two universities in the University of California system—UC San Francisco and UCLA—tied for ninth with 38 papers each. Notably, UC San Francisco surpassed the University of Oxford to break into the global top 10. Click here to access the complete university NS publication data. MethodologyFor Nature, only publications classified as Article and Review Article were included. For Science, the analysis includes Research Article, Special-Issue Research Article, and Review. 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. Further ReadingWorldHE NS Watch: 165 Universities Published in Nature and Science in July Global Nature and Science Leaders, H1 2026
The Daily Mail University Guide 2027 has recently been published. The Daily Mail University Guide rankings are based on universities’ performance across 12 key areas. The ranking analyses data alongside the views of 360,000 final-year students, covering the quality of teaching, the support students receive and their wider university experience. It also identifies the universities with the strongest graduate employment records and the highest starting salaries. The rankings additionally take into account research quality, degree outcomes, entry qualifications, dropout rates and universities’ records on widening access and fair admissions. Unlike global university rankings such as the QS World University Rankings, which place greater emphasis on academic reputation and international standing, the Daily Mail University Guide focuses more heavily on students’ actual university experience and their outcomes after graduation. In the latest rankings, Imperial College London has once again taken the top spot, marking the fourth consecutive year it has ranked first. Its lead over the university in second place has also nearly doubled. By the Daily Mail’s assessment, Imperial is not only the leading university in the UK but also indisputably one of the world’s top destinations for studying science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine and business. Almost half of its undergraduate intake in September 2025 was recruited from overseas, following a record number of applications. The University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and the University of Warwick complete the top five. The University of Warwick has climbed one place from last year, making it the highest-ranked university in the Midlands. Its strong performance reflects its continued success in delivering excellent student outcomes and its ongoing improvement across key areas, including: Graduate Salaries: ranked 4th, up one placeFirst-Year Completion: ranked 6th, up 10 placesHigh-Skilled Jobs: ranked 7th, maintaining its positionDescribing the University of Warwick in its 2027 Guide, the Daily Mail said: “Popular with employers, graduates are the fourth-most in demand with top recruiters, according to High Fliers’ latest The Graduate Market research. Warwick is unusual among Russell Group universities in also having a strong presence in the degree apprenticeships market, with close to 1,400 students following ten programmes from advanced clinical care practitioner to electro-mechanical engineering, and more in the offing.” The full Daily Mail University Guide 2027 rankings are as follows:
As global competition in scientific research continues to intensify, publication output in Nature and Science has become one of the key benchmarks for evaluating a university's capacity for original innovation and its international academic influence. WorldHE continuously tracks the latest weekly and rolling 12-month publication data from universities worldwide, using Nature and Science output to provide a dynamic view of the evolving global higher education and research landscape. Click here to access the complete university NS publication data. Global University NS Publications: August 3–9, 2026Global university output in Nature and Science eased slightly from the surge seen the previous week, with 35 universities publishing NS papers. The United States accounted for 19 of them, far ahead of other countries and regions. China Mainland contributed eight universities, maintaining its strong position in high-impact research output. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), two of the United States' leading research universities, each published papers in Nature, contributing to a combined five Nature papers during the week. Notably, four of the five papers came from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, covering cutting-edge areas including targeted protein degradation, cancer functional genomics, cancer modeling, and neuroimmunology. The output highlights the Broad Institute's global standing as a leading research center in biotechnology. The University of Texas at Austin, Duke University, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Stanford University each published two NS papers during the week. All two papers from UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz, and Stanford were published in Science, making their weekly performance particularly notable. Global University NS Rankings: August 9, 2025–August 9, 2026Over the past 12 months, 68 universities worldwide have published at least 10 papers in Nature or Science, underscoring the increasingly intense competition among leading research institutions. Among the Top 10 universities by combined Nature and Science output, the United States accounts for five institutions, China Mainland for three, and the United Kingdom for two, forming the current leading tier of global top-journal publishing. Harvard University remains the clear global leader with 143 papers, including 94 in Nature and 49 in Science. Harvard leads all universities in publication output in both journals. It was also the corresponding-author institution on 140 papers, meaning Harvard researchers served as corresponding authors on nearly every publication—an indication of its exceptional capacity for independent research leadership. MIT has now surpassed the 100-paper mark, ranking second globally with 103 papers. Stanford University followed with 93 papers, putting the three institutions together in an elite research cluster at or near the 100-paper level. The University of California, Berkeley ranked fourth with 67 NS papers. Although its overall output remains below the top three, Berkeley is the only university in the global top 10 to publish more Science papers (36) than Nature papers (31). Its Science output ranks second among universities, behind only Harvard, reflecting its long-standing strengths in astrophysics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology. The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, a university in China Mainland, ranked fifth globally with 56 papers, making it the highest-ranked non-U.S. university. The University of Cambridge ranked sixth with 48 papers, followed by Tsinghua University with 47. Peking University, the University of Oxford, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) also placed among the global top 10. Click here to access the complete university NS publication data. MethodologyFor Nature, only publications classified as Article and Review Article were included. For Science, the analysis includes Research Article, Special-Issue Research Article, and Review. 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. Further ReadingWorldHE NS Watch: 165 Universities Published in Nature and Science in July Global Nature and Science Leaders, H1 2026
Every October, the global scientific community turns its attention to one of the world’s most prestigious honors — the Nobel Prize. This year, the Nobel Prizes will be announced from October 5 to 12. Because the nomination and selection processes remain strictly confidential and are never publicly disclosed, Nobel laureates usually emerge only at the very last moment. As a result, predicting the Nobel Prize winners has become a unique annual tradition — and a moment of excitement across the scientific community. Yet Nobel laureates do not appear entirely out of nowhere. Looking back at previous winners, many had already received other major international scientific honors before winning the Nobel Prize, including the Breakthrough Prize, Citation Laureates, Lasker Awards, Horwitz Prize, Canada Gairdner International Award, Wolf Prize, Balzan Prize, and others. Because of the strong overlap between recipients of these awards and subsequent Nobel laureates, they are widely regarded as “Nobel Prize indicators.” By tracking these awards, it may be possible to identify potential future Nobel laureates. Ahead of this year’s Nobel Prize announcements, WorldHE will launch a series analyzing these major “Nobel indicators” and exploring a key question: which universities have produced the largest number of recipients of these prestigious awards, and therefore may be more likely to produce future Nobel laureates? As the opening article of this series, we begin with the Breakthrough Prize. The $3 Million Scientific PrizeIn 2012, Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner founded the Breakthrough Prize with the goal of giving scientists the recognition they deserve. The prize was later established with support from Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Julia and Yuri Milner, and Anne Wojcicki. Its mission is to celebrate scientists as “heroes of our society.” The Breakthrough Prize holds an annual high-profile awards ceremony where scientific pioneers share the stage with global entertainment and sports figures. Because of this unique format, it has often been described as the “Oscars of Science.” Following several adjustments to its structure, the prize now includes three major awards: Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics; Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences; Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. Each major prize carries a $3 million award — three times the value of the Nobel Prize monetary award and the largest individual prize among global scientific honors. The Breakthrough Prize also includes: New Horizons Prize in Physics; New Horizons Prize in Mathematics (each worth $100,000); Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize ($50,000); Vera Rubin New Frontiers Prize ($50,000), newly established in 2026. The total prize money awarded in 2026 reached $18.75 million, while cumulative awards since the prize’s establishment have exceeded $340 million. Unlike the Nobel Prize, which often recognizes discoveries decades after they were made, the Breakthrough Prize focuses more directly on major discoveries currently expanding the boundaries of human knowledge. This is why many Breakthrough Prize recipients have later gone on to win Nobel Prizes. For example, Jennifer A. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, recipients of the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, jointly received the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. As a result, the Breakthrough Prize has become an important window into global scientific strength and university innovation capacity. Universities Dominate the Breakthrough Prize LandscapeSince 2012, the three major Breakthrough Prizes have been awarded to 173 individuals or teams: 87 Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences; 17 Breakthrough Prizes in Mathematics; 69 Breakthrough Prizes in Fundamental Physics (including Special Breakthrough Prizes). An analysis of recipients’ institutional affiliations shows that universities are the dominant force. A total of 123 laureates were affiliated with universities, accounting for 71% of all recipients. Among these universities, institutions in the United States demonstrate overwhelming dominance. Of the 123 university-affiliated recipients, around 70% come from American universities. U.S. institutions lead across all three disciplines — physics, life sciences, and mathematics. All universities with five or more recipients are located in the United States. Harvard University ranks first globally with 13 recipients: 3 in Fundamental Physics; 9 in Life Sciences; 1 in Mathematics. Its overwhelming advantage in life sciences highlights Harvard’s exceptional strength in biomedical research. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Pennsylvania rank second with nine recipients each. Princeton University and Rockefeller University each have six recipients, while the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Stanford University each have five. MIT, Princeton, and Caltech have been particularly dominant in Fundamental Physics, with four recipients each. Their long-standing leadership in theoretical physics, particle physics, and cosmology has shaped modern scientific research. Meanwhile, the University of Pennsylvania and Rockefeller University have demonstrated outstanding performance in Life Sciences. All six Rockefeller recipients came from this field. The 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, recognizing the world’s first gene replacement therapy for inherited blindness, was also rooted in research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania. European Research Powerhouses Maintain Global InfluenceEuropean universities continue to demonstrate strong international competitiveness thanks to their deep traditions in fundamental science. The University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford each have four Breakthrough Prize recipients. In mathematics — a field with particularly intense competition and relatively few awards — European institutions show even stronger performance. Imperial College London has produced two Mathematics Breakthrough Prize winners, while Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) in France and CY Cergy Paris Université each have one. Frank Merle, who received the 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics for “Advances in Mathematics of Waves and Nonlinear Systems,” is affiliated with CY Cergy Paris Université. Asian Universities Emerging as a New Scientific ForceAsian universities are becoming an increasingly important force in the global scientific landscape. Japan has five universities with Breakthrough Prize recipients, covering all three prize categories. Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo each have three recipients, placing them among the world’s leading institutions. The Chinese University of Hong Kong has also produced one Breakthrough Prize recipient in Life Sciences. These achievements demonstrate the growing international influence of Asian universities in fundamental research. Inspiring the Next Generation of ScientistsBeyond the three major prizes, the Breakthrough Prize’s New Horizons Prizes recognize early-career researchers who have demonstrated exceptional promise. The New Horizons Prize in Mathematics has become an important indicator of future leaders in mathematics and is widely regarded as a predictor of the Fields Medal, often considered the highest honor in mathematics. Among the four newly awarded Fields Medalists in 2026, three had previously received the New Horizons Prize. Chinese mathematician Hong Wang won the New Horizons Prize earlier in the same year before receiving the Fields Medal. To date: The New Horizons Prize in Physics has recognized 95 scientists; The New Horizons Prize in Mathematics has recognized 38 scientists. Universities remain the primary source of recipients, with 117 winners affiliated with universities, accounting for 88%. American universities continue to lead. All institutions with three or more recipients are American. MIT ranks first with 12 recipients: 3 in Mathematics; 9 in Physics. Caltech follows closely with 10 recipients. European universities maintain traditional strength in mathematics. Imperial College London and the University of Bonn each have two New Horizons Prize recipients in Mathematics. These results highlight the continuing ability of top universities to cultivate and produce the next generation of scientific leaders. The Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize and Vera Rubin New Frontiers Prize focus respectively on outstanding female researchers in mathematics and physics who completed their PhDs within the past two years. These awards reflect the scientific community’s growing commitment to supporting women researchers. The United States remains dominant in institutional representation. Princeton University and Stanford University each have three recipients. The inaugural recipient of the Vera Rubin New Frontiers Prize in 2026, Carolina Figueiredo, is affiliated with Princeton University. In Europe, ETH Zurich and the University of Bonn have also demonstrated strong performance. The United States’ leading position in fundamental science is rooted in decades of accumulated advantages: sustained investment in research funding; world-class scientific infrastructure; globally competitive talent recruitment systems; mature collaboration networks between universities and research institutions. Looking ahead, emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, life sciences, and quantum technology may reshape global scientific competition. However, universities with stable research ecosystems and the ability to continuously attract global talent will remain central players in future scientific innovation. Data NotesThis analysis is based on institutional affiliations listed in recipient biographies on the official Breakthrough Prize website from 2012 to the present. Some recipients are affiliated with multiple institutions, and each institution is counted separately. Some universities have undergone name changes or have multiple campuses. Reasonable institutional consolidation has been applied during data analysis.
Nature and Science, the world's most influential and authoritative multidisciplinary scientific journals, have long served as the premier platforms for publishing major scientific discoveries and breakthrough research. WorldHE continuously tracks the latest and annual publication data of universities worldwide in Nature and Science (NS), offering a unique lens through which to observe the evolving landscape of global higher education and scientific research. As the opening month of the second half of the year, July saw universities around the world deliver another strong wave of research output in Nature and Science. A total of 165 universities published NS papers during the month. Among them, two institutions published more than 10 papers, while another two maintained a remarkable pace by publishing NS papers every week throughout July. 165 Universities Published NS Papers in JulyFrom a geographical perspective, the 165 universities publishing NS papers in July were distributed across 24 countries. China accounted for 51 institutions, including 47 universities in China Mainland, two in Hong Kong, China, and two in Taiwan, China, while the United States contributed 48 universities. Together, China and the United States represented approximately 60% of all publishing institutions. The two countries have firmly established themselves as the dual global leaders in top-tier journal publications, with their university sectors demonstrating research vitality far exceeding that of other national research systems. The top three positions in July's NS publication rankings were all occupied by U.S. universities, closely mirroring the year-to-date standings. Harvard University retained the top spot with 12 publications, including nine in Nature, the highest monthly Nature output among all universities worldwide. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) followed with 10 publications, making Harvard and MIT the only two institutions to publish 10 or more NS papers in July. Stanford University ranked third with nine publications, with the three universities forming a clear top tier. The University of Cambridge delivered an especially impressive performance, climbing to fourth place with a total of eight publications—five in Nature and three in Science—demonstrating strong momentum. The University of California, Berkeley ranked fifth with seven papers, continuing its consistent strength in interdisciplinary research. Other universities publishing five or more NS papers included Peking University, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Yale University, together forming the backbone of this month's high-output institutions. Notably, Peking University published four Science papers, the highest monthly Science output among all universities worldwide, further underscoring the dominant position of China and the United States among the world's most productive research institutions. July HighlightsSeveral universities stood out in July's NS rankings with distinctive research achievements. Behind Harvard University's total of 12 publications was an extraordinary publishing rhythm, with four NS papers appearing in each of three consecutive weeks. These studies spanned cutting-edge topics including dendritic cells, targeted protein degradation, tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs), and AI-redesigned proteases. The University of Cambridge and Peking University were the only two universities to publish NS papers every week throughout July, demonstrating exceptional consistency in research output. Cambridge's publications focused on interdisciplinary topics such as the Hormone Cell Atlas, fibroblasts, and the complex dynamics of Earth's interior. Meanwhile, on July 2, Peking University published a Science paper reporting the world's first millisecond-scale neuromorphic dynamical system chip based on phase-change memristors, marking a major breakthrough in next-generation neuromorphic computing hardware. Science simultaneously published a Perspective article praising the work as "representing a conceptual shift toward physics-driven computing." In terms of research leadership, most July publications listed the universities as corresponding-author institutions. Particularly noteworthy were the University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, and Nanjing University, each of which achieved full leadership across all of their published papers, serving as both the first-author and corresponding-author institution in every case. This reflects their strong capabilities in research organization, resource integration, and leadership in international collaboration. MethodologyFor Nature, only articles classified as Article and Review Article are included. For Science, the included document types are Special-Issue Research Article, Research Article, and Review. Each affiliation of the first author and corresponding author is counted once. If the first-author affiliation and corresponding-author affiliation are the same institution, it is counted only once. The statistics include only formally published papers and exclude advance online publications. Further ReadingWorldHE NS Watch: Global Nature & Science Publications Surge Last Week Global Nature and Science Leaders, H1 2026
As global competition in scientific research continues to intensify, publication output in Nature and Science has become one of the most important indicators of a university's research excellence, capacity for original innovation, and international academic influence. WorldHE continuously tracks both the latest weekly and rolling 12-month publication data from universities worldwide, using Nature and Science output to reveal the evolving landscape of global higher education and scientific research. Click here to access the complete university NS publication data. Global University NS Publications: July 27–August 2, 2026Universities worldwide delivered another strong week of high-impact research, with 55 institutions publishing papers in Nature or Science. Among them, 19 universities were from the United States and 18 from China Mainland, placing both well ahead of other countries and regions. The United Kingdom also maintained a strong presence, with five universities publishing NS papers during the week. The University of California, Berkeley delivered one of the week's strongest performances, publishing two Nature papers and one Science paper. Berkeley was listed as both the first-author and corresponding-author institution on all three publications. Its research covered a diverse range of frontier topics, including ferroelectric cross-coupling, climate epidemiology, and paleobiogeography, highlighting the university's long-standing strength in interdisciplinary research and its ability to drive original scientific innovation. Imperial College London, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the University of Oxford, Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Yale University each published two NS papers, making them among the week's top-performing institutions. Global University NS Rankings: August 2, 2025–August 2, 2026Over the past 12 months, 68 universities worldwide have published at least 10 papers in Nature or Science, reflecting the increasingly intense competition among the world's leading research institutions. Among the Top 10 universities by combined Nature and Science output, the United States accounts for five universities, China Mainland for three, and the United Kingdom for two, together forming the current top tier of global scientific research. Harvard University remains the clear global leader with 142 papers, including 91 in Nature and 51 in Science. It leads all universities in publications in both journals. Harvard was also the corresponding-author institution on 138 papers, demonstrating an exceptional ability to independently lead world-class research. MIT ranked second with 98 papers, followed by Stanford University with 93. Together with Harvard, the three universities form an elite research cluster approaching the 100-paper mark. The University of California, Berkeley ranked fourth with 67 NS papers. Although its overall output remains below the top three, Berkeley is the only university in the global top 10 to publish more Science papers (36) than Nature papers (31). Its Science output ranks second among all universities, behind only Harvard, reflecting the university's long-established strengths in astrophysics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology. The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, a university in China Mainland, ranked fifth globally with 55 papers, making it the highest-ranked non-U.S. institution. The University of Cambridge ranked sixth with 48 papers, followed by Tsinghua University in seventh with 46 papers. Peking University, the University of Oxford, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) completed the global top 10. Click here to access the complete university NS publication data. MethodologyFor Nature, only publications classified as Article and Review Article were included. For Science, the analysis includes Research Article, Special-Issue Research Article, and Review. 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.
Data & Rankings
Data & Rankings
Data & Rankings
Data & Rankings
Data & Rankings