UP in International Rankings

Palacký University Olomouc has been listed in many prestigious international rankings that compare universities across the world and are based on a variety of parameters. The individual rankings differ from each other by the choice of entry criteria and the indicators under assessment. Some work with freely available data, mostly from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, while others obtain data directly from universities and from various surveys (e.g. among academics, researchers, industrial partners, alumni). However, the resulting ranking can also be a combination of both of the above. The most commonly assessed areas are education quality, research performance, industry collaboration, and internationalisation. Indicators relating to reputation are also important components. Some rankings also compare universities within individual disciplines. The specific methodologies of each ranking are listed below.

Rankings

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)

501st–600th

701st–800th

701st–800th

601st–700th

601st–700th

Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE)

601st–800th

801st–1000th

1001st–1200th

801st–1000th

to be published:
autumn 2024

QS World University Rankings (QS)

591st–600th

601st–650th

651st–700th

631st–640th

651st–660th

Best Global Universities Ranking (US News)

529th

568th

611th

not published 

671st

CWUR (The Center for World University Rankings)

573rd

572nd

566th

591st

625th

 

The position of UP in the ranking is given according to the year of the ranking.

 

Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)

The ARWU ranking (Academic Ranking of World Universities), or “Shanghai Ranking”, is the oldest international university ranking in the world. It was first published in 2003 by Shanghai University; since 2009 it has been published by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy company. The Academic Ranking of World Universities works with the Web of Science database and focuses primarily on the scientific and research performance of institutions, which are evaluated on the basis of the six indicators listed below.

Criteria

Indicator

Weight

Quality of Education

Alumni of an institution winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals

10%

Quality of Faculty

Staff of an institution winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals

20%

Highly Cited Researchers in 21 research areas selected by Clarivate Analytics (only primary affiliations are considered)

20%

Research Outputs

Papers indexed in Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCIE) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) in the previous year (only publications of “Article” type are considered)

20%

Research articles published in Nature and Science in the last five years (only publications of “Article” type are considered)

20%

Per Capita Performance

Per capita academic performance of an institution (weighted scores of the above five indicators divided by the number of academic staff)

10%

Detailed ranking methodology is available here.

Palacký University was listed in the Shanghai Ranking for the first time in 2017, when it was ranked 601st–700th. Although UP dropped to the 701st–800th positions in 2021 and 2022, it managed to return to the previous 601st–700th positions and keeps them. UP keeps the third position among Czech universities.

Rankings of Czech universities in the Academic Ranking of World Universities for the last 5 years:

 

ARWU 2020

ARWU 2021

ARWU 2022

ARWU 2023

ARWU 2024

Charles University, Prague

201st–300.

201st–300.

301st–400th

301st–400th

301st–400th

Masaryk University, Brno

601st–700th

601st–700th

401st–500th

401st–500th

401st–500th

Palacký University Olomouc

501st–600th

701st–800th

701st–800th

601st–700th

601st–700th

Brno University of Technology

-

701st–800th

901st–1000th

701st–800th

701st–800th

Czech Technical University in Prague

701st–800th

801st–900th

801st–900th

801st–900th

801st–900th

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

801st–900th

801st–900th

801st–900th

601st–700th

801st–900th

VSB – Technical University of Ostrava

-

901st–1000th

901st–1000th

-

-

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

901st–1000th

-

901st–1000th

-

-

University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague

901st–1000th

-

-

-

-

 

Global Ranking of Academic Subjects

In addition to the global rankings, university rankings are also published annually in 55 subjects across Natural Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, and Social Sciences. The Global Ranking of Academic Subjects is based on performance in five indicators: the number of papers published in journals with Q1 Journal Impact Factor, the ratio of citations of papers published to the average citations in the same category according to InCites database, the ratio of publications made in collaboration with an international co-author, the number of papers published in top journals, and the number of staff winning a significant award in their fields while working full-time at an institution. Different weights are allocated to the indicators for different subjects.

In the latest edition of the 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, Palacký University Olomouc made it into the top 500 in five subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Ecology, Material Science & Engineering, Nanoscience & Nanotechnology) and was the only Czech university ranked in Material Science & Engineering that year.

 

Placings of Palacký University Olomouc in 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects

Physics

401st–500th

Chemistry

401st–500th

Ecology

201st–300th

Materials Science & Engineering

301st–400th

Nanoscience & Nanotechnology

301st–400th

Sport Science Ranking - Global Ranking of Sport Science Schools and Departments

The Shanghai Ranking also publishes assessments of institutions and departments specialising in sports science. This ranking evaluates five criteria: articles indexed on WoS, total number of citations, number of citations per article, number of articles in Q1 journals and percentage of articles with international collaborations.

In this ranking, the Faculty of Physical Culture of Palacký University regularly performs very well, holding the position of the Czech number one since the first edition in 2016, ahead of Charles University, which is ranked 151st–200th in the most recent edition for 2023.

Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE)

The rankings, published since 2010 by the UK newspaper The Times Higher Education, are among the three most respected global rankings of universities and higher education institutions. They employ Elsevier’s Scopus database and focus on evaluating universities in several areas: education, research environment, research quality, industry collaboration, and international outlook. The evaluation published in autumn 2023 entailed a fairly significant update of the methodology, last changed in 2011. With the new methodology, the number of performance indicators has increased from the original 13 to the current 18, with five completely new indicators (four of which focus on assessing research quality).

Area

Indicator

Weight

Education

Doctorate-to-Bachelor’s ratio

2%

Doctorates-awarded-to-academic-staff ratio

5.5%

Teaching reputation

15%

Staff-to-student ratio

4.5%

Institutional income per scholar

2.5%

Research Environment

Research productivity (number of publications per scholar)

5.5%

Research reputation

18%

Research income per scholar

5.5%

Research Quality

Citation impact

15%

Research strength (75th percentile of field-weighted citation impact – FWCI)

5%

Number of publications in the top 10% for FWCI

5%

Citation rate in highly cited sources

5%

Industry

Industry income per scholar

2%

Patents citing published research

2%

International Outlook

Proportion of international staff

2.5%

Proportion of papers in international collaboration

2.5%

Proportion of international students

2.5%

International learning opportunities for domestic students (zero weight due to Covid-19, temporarily)

0%

 

Detailed methodology is available here.

Palacký University Olomouc entered THE World University Ranking (WUR) for the first time in the 2015–2016 edition. In the most recent ranking published in autumn 2023 (World University Rankings 2024), Palacký University improved its position compared to the previous year and was ranked 801st–1000th, thus returning to the top 1000 universities in the world. In addition, UP improved its score in almost all indicators. UP’s best scores among the weighted indicators were achieved in Research Influence (citations in highly cited sources) and International Co-authorship (ratio of articles with an international co-author).

Rankings of Czech universities in the THE World University Rankings for the last 5 years:

 

THE WUR 2020

THE WUR 2021

THE WUR 2022

THE WUR 2023

new methodology
THE WUR 2024

Charles University, Prague

401st–500th

401st–500th

501st–600th

501st–600th

401st–500th

Masaryk University, Brno

601st–800th

601st–800th

801st–1000th

801st–1000th

601st–800th

Palacký University Olomouc

601st–800th

601st–800th

801st–1000th

1001st–1200th

801st–1000th

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

1001st+

1001st+

1001st–1200th

1001st–1200th

801st–1000th

Brno University of Technology

1001st+

1001st+

1201st+

1201st–1500th

1001st–1200th

University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague

1001st+

1001st+

1201st+

1201st–1500th

1001st–1200th

Czech Technical University in Prague

801st–1000th

1001st+

1001st–1200th

1201st–1500th

1001st–1200th

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

801st–1000th

801st–1000th

801st–1000th

801st–1000th

1001st–1200th

University of Hradec Králové

1001st+

1001st+

1201st+

1201st–1500th

1201st–1500th

Mendel University in Brno

1001st+

1001st+

1201st+

1201st–1500th

1201st–1500th

Tomas Bata University in Zlín

1001st+

1001st+

1201st+

1201st–1500th

1201st–1500th

VSB – Technical University of Ostrava

1001st+

1001st+

1201st+

1501st+

1201st–1500th

University of West Bohemia, Plzeň

1001st+

1001st+

1001st–1200th

1201st–1500th

1201st–1500th

Jan Evangelista Purkyně University, Ústí nad Labem

-

1001st+

1201st+

1501st+

1501st+

University of Ostrava 

1001st+

1001st+

1201st+

1201st–1500th

1501st+

University of Pardubice

1001st+

1001st+

1201st+

1501st+

1501st+

Prague University of Economics and Business

1001st+

1001st+

1201st+

1501st+

1501st+

Technical University of Liberec

1001st+

1001st+

1201st+

1501st+

1501st+

 

World University Rankings by Subject

In addition to the global rankings, rankings are also published annually in 11 areas, which are Arts & Humanities, Business & Economics, Clinical & Health, Computer Science, Education, Engineering, Law, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Psychology, and Social Sciences. The rankings in THE World University Rankings by subject are based on the same indicators as the global rankings, only the weight of indicators in the resulting ranking varies across subjects.

In the latest edition of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 by subject, Palacký University Olomouc is listed among the top 300 in Law and among the top 500 in Life Sciences.

Placings of Palacký University Olomouc in THE World University Rankings 2024 by Subject

Arts and Humanities

501st–600th

Clinical and Health

601st–800th

Computer Science

601st–800th

Education

601st+

Law

251st–300th

Life Sciences

501st–600th

Physical Sciences

601st–800th

Psychology

401st–500th

Social Sciences

601st–800th

QS World University Rankings (QS)

The QS World University Rankings, published by Quacquarelli Symonds, also implemented a methodological enhancement in 2023. The newly introduced metrics are Sustainability, Employment Outcomes, and International Research Network. The QS World University Rankings works with Elsevier’s Scopus database and ranks universities in the nine indicators below.

Indicator

Weight

Academic Reputation

30%

Citations per Faculty

20%

Employer Reputation

15%

Employment Outcomes

5%

Faculty/Student Ratio

10%

International Faculty Ratio

5%

International Research Network (IRN Index)

5%

International Students Ratio

5%

Sustainability (based on QS Sustainability Rankings)

5%

Detailed ranking methodology is available here.

Palacký University Olomouc was listed in the ranking for the first time in 2016th In the most recent ranking, the QS World University Rankings 2025, it ranks 651st to 660th, a slight drop from the previous year when it ranked 631st to 650th. Palacký University performs best in the International Research Network Index (IRN Index), where it is ranked 210th in the world. It also ranks in the top 500 in sustainability and number of foreign academics and researchers.

Rankings of Czech universities in the QS World University Rankings for the last 5 years:

 

QS WUR 2021

QS WUR 2022

QS WUR 2023

new methodology
QS WUR 2024

new methodology
QS WUR 2025

Charles University, Prague

260th

266th

28th8th

248th

246th

Masaryk University, Brno

531st–540th

551st–560th

551st–560th

400th

408th

Czech Technical University in Prague

432nd

403rd

378th

454th

420th

University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague

342nd

373rd

358th

556th

570th

Brno University of Technology

701st–750th

701st–750th

701st–750th

611st–620th

611st–620th

Palacký University Olomouc

591st–600th

601st–650th

651st–700th

631st–640th

651st–660th

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

801st–1000th

801st–1000th

801st–1000th

701st–710th

711st–720th

Mendel University in Brno

701st–750th

801st–1000th

801st–1000th

901st–950th

851st–900th

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

701st–750th

1001st–1200th

951st–1000th

University of Hradec Králové

801st–1000th

801st–1000th

1001st–1200th

1001st–1200th

VSB – Technical University of Ostrava

1001st–1200th

1201st–1400th

1001st–1200th

1001st–1200th

Technical University of Liberec

751st–800th

801st–1000th

801st–1000th

1001st–1200th

1201st–1400th

Tomas Bata University in Zlín

1001st–1200th

1001st–1200th

1001st–1200th

1201st–1400th

University of Ostrava 

1001st–1200th

1001st–1200th

1201st–1400th

1201st–1400th

University of Pardubice

801st–1000th

1001st–1200th

1001st–1200th

1001st–1200th

1201st–1400th

University of West Bohemia, Plzeň

1001st–1200th

1201st–1400th

1201st–1400th

1201st–1400th

 

QS World University Rankings: Europe

The QS World University Rankings: Europe was published in 2024 for the second time. It supercedes the QS Emerging Europe & Central Asia (EECA) University Rankings. European universities from countries which are members of the Council of Europe are compared in the rankings on 12 indicators below. The rankings focus on research quality, graduate employability, study and teaching conditions, global engagement, and sustainability.

Indicator

Weight

Academic Reputation

30%

Citations per Paper

10%

Papers per Faculty

5%

Employer Reputation

15%

Employment Outcomes

5%

Faculty/Student Ratio

10%

International Research Network (IRN Index)

5%

International Faculty Ratio

5%

International Student Diversity (nationalities)

5%

Inbound Exchange Student Ratio

2nd5%

Outbound Exchange Student Ratio

2nd5%

Sustainability Score (based on QS Sustainability Rankings)

5%

Detailed ranking methodology is available here.

Palacký University is ranked 214th in the latest edition of the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2025, published in summer 2024, improving its position by 5 places compared to last year. It even ranked 8th in Eastern Europe.

Rankings of Czech universities in the QS World University Rankings: Europe:

 

2025

 

QS Europe rank

Charles University, Prague

79

Masaryk University, Brno

143

Czech Technical University in Prague

177

Palacký University Olomouc

214

Brno University of Technology

224

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

253

University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague

296

Mendel University in Brno

355

VSB – Technical University of Ostrava

381

University of Hradec Králové

403

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

428

Tomas Bata University in Zlín

445

University of Pardubice

479

University of Ostrava 

498

Technical University of Liberec

511–520

University of West Bohemia, Plzeň

551–600

University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Ústí nad Labem

601

QS World University Rankings by Subject

In addition to the global rankings, university rankings are also published annually in 55 subjects divided into 5 areas: Arts & Humanities, Engineering & Technology, Life Sciences & Medicine, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences & Management. The QS World University Rankings by Subject are based on 5 indicators: results of international reputation surveys among academics, a similar survey among employers, publication citations, the H–index and the IRN (International Research Network) Index. Each discipline differs in the weighting of each indicator to take into account the specificities of each discipline.
A more detailed description of the methodology for each discipline is available here.
In the latest edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, Palacký University was ranked in 4 disciplines, with three of them in the Top 500th Olomouc University performs best in Forestry and Agriculture, where it is ranked 251st–300th. Compared to the previous year, it dropped out of the ranking in Physics and Astronomy.

Placings of Palacký University Olomouc in QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024

Agriculture & Forestry

251st–300th

Biological Sciences

401st–450th

Medicine

501st–550th

Chemistry

401st–450th

Best Global Universities Ranking (US News)

The Best Global Universities rankings, published by U.S. News & World Report, originally compared only the best US schools, but in recent years have been ranking universities across the globe. Using the data from the Web of Science database, the final rankings are based on the 13 indicators listed below.

Area

Indicator

Weight

Reputation indicators

Global research reputation

12.5%

Regional research reputation

12.5%

Bibliometric indicators

Publications

10%

Books

2.5%

Conferences

2.5%

Normalized citation impact

10%

Total citations

7.5%

Number of publications that are among the 10% most cited

12.5%

Percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited

10%

Scientific excellence indicators

International collaboration – relative to country

5%

International collaboration

5%

Number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited in their respective field

5%

Percentage of total publications that are among the top 1% most highly cited papers

5%

Detailed ranking methodology is available here.

Palacký University Olomouc was ranked in the U.S. News Best Global Universities for the first time in 2014. UP was ranked 671st in the most recent edition of Best Global Universities Rankings 2024–2025.

Rankings of Czech universities in the Best Global Universities for the last 5 years:

 

Best Global Universities 2020

Best Global Universities 2021

Best Global Universities 2022

Best Global Universities 2022–2023

Best Global Universities 2024–2025

Charles University, Prague

210

210

218

226

253

Masaryk University, Brno

577

555

568

605

612

Palacký University Olomouc

519

529

568

611

671

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

1003

1030

1007

930

789

Czech Technical University in Prague

465

516

596

698

888

Brno University of Technology

921

1068

1077

1060

962

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

904

941

1024

1013

1021

Mendel University in Brno

1228

1288

1286

1291

1215

University of Hradec Králové

-

-

-

-

1383

University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague

1144

1187

1254

1344

1494

VSB – Technical University of Ostrava

1333

1452

1525

1589

1571

University of West Bohemia, Plzeň

1390

-

1607

1449

1609

Tomáš Baťa University, Zlín

-

-

-

-

1824

University of Ostrava

-

1339

1416

1542

1865

Technical University of Liberec

-

-

-

-

1934

University of Pardubice

1471

-

-

1903

2144

University of Finance and Administration, Prague

-

-

-

-

-

CWUR (The Center for World University Rankings)

The Center for World University Rankings is a consultancy organisation that has been publishing international rankings since 2012. The rankings are primarily based on data from the Thomson Reuters database, work only with available data, do not include university reputation (which plays a major role in other prominent rankings), and do not require universities to provide data. The Center for World University Rankings modified its methodology in 2019–2020 to place equal emphasis on the educational environment and research, now ranking universities based on the four metrics below.

Indicator

Weight

Education quality

25%

Alumni employability

25%

Academic and research staff quality

10%

Total number of research papers

10%

Number of research papers in top-tier journals

10%

Number of research papers in highly-influential journals

10%

Number of highly-cited research papers

10%

Detailed ranking methodology is available here.

Palacký University Olomouc has been listed in the rankings since 2014 when it was ranked 804th. It has not dropped below this position since then. In the most recent edition of CWUR 2024, UP was ranked 591st and is thus among the top 3% of universities in the world.

CWTS Leiden Ranking

The Leiden Ranking, produced by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University in the Netherlands, is specific in that it does not present the results of universities as a combination of all indicators, but rather enables the performance of universities to be explored from a diversity of perspectives, with the possibility of adjusting more detailed parameters. Thus, there are several resulting rankings available. The Leiden Ranking uses the Web of Science database and assesses 4 main indicators, which are scientific impact, international collaboration, open access, and gender diversity, both for the university as a whole and in 5 disciplines (Biomedical & Health Sciences, Life & Earth Sciences, Mathematics & Computer Science, Physical Sciences & Engineering, Social Sciences & Humanities).

Detailed ranking methodology is available here.

Sustainability rankings

As the issues of sustainability, social responsibility, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have become more prominent in university strategies and plans in recent years, the rankings have also begun to look at how universities rank in these areas. Palacký University Olomouc is currently involved in three of them (Times Higher Education Impact Ranking, QS World University Rankings: Sustainability, UI GreenMetric World University Rankings).

Palacký University in sustainability rankings

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