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 |
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 | new methodology |
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).