Times Higher Education (THE), one of the world's most prestigious higher education ranking organizations, announced the results of the World University Rankings 2026 for the year 2026. In this year's ranking, which evaluated 2,191 universities from over 100 countries, Kastamonu University was included among the world's successful universities, ranking in the 1501+ band.

 The Times Higher Education World University Rankings are recognized as a comprehensive performance indicator that evaluates research-focused universities across key missions such as teaching, research environment, research quality, industry collaboration, and international outlook.  This evaluation, based on the universities' performance over the past five years, is among the most widely trusted analyzes by students, academics, the business world, and governments.

THE rankings are prepared based on five main criteria: quality of education, research environment, quality of research, international visibility, and industry income. Our university stood out, especially for its improvement in the research quality category. Our university continues to improve its success graph by increasing its score from 43.5 in 2025 to 44.3 in 2026, placing it 29th among 109 universities in Türkiye. 

In 2025, 91 universities across Turkey were ranked, and according to 2026 data, this number increased to 109. Our university, on the other hand, has strengthened its scientific performance at the national and international level by making progress in five sub-areas simultaneously.

Our Rector, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Topal, emphasized that this achievement is in line with the university's quality goals and the 2030 Higher Education Vision, and made the following statements:

As Kastamonu University, we aim to continuously improve our scientific productivity, international collaborations, and research capacity. This success we achieved in THE 2026 ranking is a reflection of the dedicated work of our academic staff, the efforts of our students, and our vision for institutional development. In the coming period, we aim to achieve an even stronger position in the areas of research quality, international visibility, and social contribution. "

 Additionally, our rector expressed his thanks to the President of the Council of Higher Education, Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar, and the members of the Council for their encouragement and support regarding quality standards and internationalization.  Stating that dedicated work lies at the heart of their success, our rector also thanked all Kastamonu University employees and students who contributed to this process.