QS Best Student Cities 2026 for International Students
Talk to Expert
QS World University Rankings released their Best Student Cities 2026. This list ranks cities based on factors like university rankings, student mix, desirability, affordability and more. London topped the list followed by Tokyo and Seoul.
Seoul, the national capital of South Korea, is the best student city in the world. The QS released the ranking of the best student cities in the world 2026, and Seoul secured first rank. Tokyo (Japan), London (UK), Munich (Germany) and Melbourne (Australia) secured the second, third, fourth, and fifth ranks, respectively.
Here, we have mentioned the list of top 150 cities in the world according to QS Best Student Cities 2026. This is a list of the most popular cities for international students looking to study abroad. We have also mentioned the methodology in place for their ranks, which has also been mentioned in the article.
Related Blogs
| Costliest Cities in the World | Best Student Cities in USA |
| Best Student Cities in Canada | Toronto vs Vancouver |
Best Student Cities 2026 for International Students
This is the recently published list of Best Student Cities for 2026 for international students by QS.
| Rank | City | Country | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seoul | South Korea | 100.0 |
| 2 | Tokyo | Japan | 99.9 |
| 3 | London | United Kingdom | 97.1 |
| 4 | Munich | Germany | 96.3 |
| 5 | Melbourne | Australia | 95.7 |
| 6 | Sydney | Australia | 94.7 |
| =7 | Berlin | Germany | 93.3 |
| =7 | Paris | France | 93.3 |
| 9 | Zurich | Switzerland | 91.5 |
| 10 | Vienna | Austria | 90.8 |
| 11 | Singapore | Singapore | 90.6 |
| 12 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 90.3 |
| 13 | Beijing | China (Mainland) | 89.7 |
| 14 | Taipei | Taiwan | 89.1 |
| =15 | Boston | United States | 88.5 |
| =15 | Edinburgh | United Kingdom | 88.5 |
| 17 | Hong Kong SAR | Hong Kong SAR | 88.3 |
| =18 | Kyoto | Japan | 87.8 |
| =18 | Montreal | Canada | 87.8 |
| 20 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | 87.4 |
| 21 | Lausanne | Switzerland | 87.1 |
| 22 | Toronto | Canada | 87.0 |
| 23 | New York | United States | 86.1 |
| 24 | Stockholm | Sweden | 85.2 |
| 25 | Auckland | New Zealand | 84.7 |
| 26 | Brisbane | Australia | 84.3 |
| 27 | Shanghai | China (Mainland) | 84.0 |
| 28 | Madrid | Spain | 83.9 |
| =29 | Prague | Czech Republic | 83.4 |
| =29 | Vancouver | Canada | 83.4 |
| 31 | Adelaide | Australia | 82.9 |
| 32 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | 82.8 |
| 33 | Leuven | Belgium | 82.5 |
| 34 | Copenhagen | Denmark | 82.3 |
| =35 | Barcelona | Spain | 82.2 |
| =35 | Glasgow | United Kingdom | 82.2 |
| 37 | Perth | Australia | 81.4 |
| =38 | Canberra | Australia | 81.2 |
| =38 | Dublin | Ireland | 81.2 |
| 40 | Manchester | United Kingdom | 80.8 |
| =41 | Newcastle Upon Tyne | United Kingdom | 80.7 |
| =41 | San Francisco | United States | 80.7 |
| 43 | Los Angeles | United States | 79.5 |
| 44 | Milan | Italy | 78.3 |
| 45 | Coventry | United Kingdom | 76.2 |
| 46 | Rome | Italy | 75.9 |
| =47 | Bristol | United Kingdom | 75.4 |
| =47 | Chicago | United States | 75.4 |
| 49 | Nottingham | United Kingdom | 75.3 |
| 50 | Santiago | Chile | 75.2 |
| 51 | Leeds | United Kingdom | 75.0 |
| 52 | Gothenburg | Sweden | 74.9 |
| 53 | Brussels | Belgium | 74.7 |
| 54 | Lyon | France | 74.5 |
| 55 | Bangkok | Thailand | 74.4 |
| 56 | Warsaw | Poland | 74.1 |
| 57 | Brno | Czech Republic | 73.4 |
| 58 | Lisbon | Portugal | 73.2 |
| 59 | Birmingham | United Kingdom | 73.0 |
| 60 | Helsinki | Finland | 72.7 |
| 61 | Istanbul | Türkiye | 72.1 |
| =62 | Liverpool | United Kingdom | 70.9 |
| =62 | Osaka | Japan | 70.9 |
| 64 | Amman | Jordan | 70.8 |
| 65 | Belfast | United Kingdom | 70.6 |
| 66 | Turin | Italy | 70.2 |
| 67 | Sheffield | United Kingdom | 69.7 |
| 68 | Budapest | Hungary | 68.8 |
| 69 | Nanjing | China (Mainland) | 68.7 |
| 70 | Philadelphia | United States | 68.4 |
| =71 | Cairo | Egypt | 68.2 |
| =71 | Hsinchu | Taiwan | 68.2 |
| 73 | Mexico City | Mexico | 67.7 |
| 74 | Washington DC | United States | 67.6 |
| 75 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 67.1 |
| 76 | Sharjah | United Arab Emirates | 66.8 |
| 77 | Cape Town | South Africa | 66.7 |
| 78 | Oslo | Norway | 65.7 |
| 79 | Ankara | Türkiye | 65.6 |
| =80 | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates | 65.4 |
| =80 | Atlanta | United States | 65.4 |
| =80 | Ottawa | Canada | 65.4 |
| 83 | Valencia | Spain | 65.2 |
| 84 | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | 64.7 |
| 85 | Doha | Qatar | 64.4 |
| 86 | Aberdeen | United Kingdom | 64.1 |
| 87 | San Diego | United States | 64.0 |
| 88 | Manila | Philippines | 63.9 |
| 89 | Pittsburgh | United States | 63.7 |
| 90 | Wuhan | China (Mainland) | 63.6 |
| 91 | Almaty | Kazakhstan | 63.5 |
| =92 | Brighton | United Kingdom | 62.2 |
| =92 | Tainan | Taiwan | 62.2 |
| 94 | Christchurch | New Zealand | 62.1 |
| 95 | Gold Coast | Australia | 61.9 |
| 96 | Seattle | United States | 61.8 |
| 97 | Beirut | Lebanon | 61.7 |
| 98 | Mumbai | India | 61.6 |
| =99 | Bogota | Colombia | 61.4 |
| =99 | Johannesburg | South Africa | 61.4 |
| 101 | Sao Paulo | Brazil | 61.2 |
| 102 | Athens | Greece | 60.8 |
| 103 | Baltimore | United States | 60.6 |
| 104 | Delhi | India | 60.5 |
| 105 | Riga | Latvia | 60.4 |
| 106 | Toulouse | France | 60.3 |
| 107 | Al-Ain | United Arab Emirates | 60.0 |
| 108 | Bangalore | India | 59.6 |
| 109 | Graz | Austria | 59.4 |
| 110 | Krakow | Poland | 59.1 |
| =111 | Monterrey | Mexico | 58.0 |
| =111 | Nagoya | Japan | 58.0 |
| 113 | Taichung | Taiwan | 57.9 |
| =114 | Houston | United States | 57.8 |
| =114 | Vilnius | Lithuania | 57.8 |
| 116 | Jakarta | Indonesia | 56.9 |
| =117 | Baku | Azerbaijan | 56.8 |
| =117 | Busan | South Korea | 56.8 |
| =119 | Guangzhou | China (Mainland) | 56.7 |
| =119 | Stuttgart | Germany | 56.7 |
| 121 | Yogyakarta | Indonesia | 56.1 |
| 122 | Jeddah | Saudi Arabia | 55.6 |
| 123 | Bandung | Indonesia | 55.5 |
| 124 | Xi’an | China (Mainland) | 55.1 |
| 125 | Leicester | United Kingdom | 54.8 |
| 126 | Miami | United States | 54.5 |
| 127 | Astana | Kazakhstan | 54.3 |
| 128 | Chennai | India | 54.1 |
| 129 | Tallinn | Estonia | 53.9 |
| 130 | Taoyuan District | Taiwan | 53.6 |
| 131 | Daegu | South Korea | 53.4 |
| 132 | Tianjin | China (Mainland) | 52.8 |
| 133 | Pretoria | South Africa | 52.6 |
| 134 | Macau | Macau SAR | 52.0 |
| 135 | Lima | Peru | 51.3 |
| 136 | Dhaka | Bangladesh | 50.7 |
| =138 | Montpellier | France | 50.2 |
| =138 | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | 50.1 |
| 140 | Tel Aviv-Yafo | Israel | 50.1 |
| 141 | Wroclaw | Poland | 49.9 |
| 142 | Izmir | Türkiye | 49.8 |
| 143 | Kaunas | Lithuania | 49.5 |
| =144 | Surabaya | Indonesia | 49.2 |
| =144 | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | 49.1 |
| 146 | Shah Alam | Malaysia | 49.1 |
| 147 | Chengdu | China (Mainland) | 48.8 |
| =148 | Dallas | United States | 48.7 |
| =148 | Cluj-Napoca | Romania | 48.5 |
| 150 | Irbid | Jordan | 48.3 |
Read: Top 10 Safest Cities in the World for Students in 2025-26
QS Best Student Cities 2026 Ranking: Methodology
Every ranking would be based on a certain set of parameters, which would help decide the performance of one city over another. Similarly, in this section, we are going to be talking about the ranking methodology followed for the recently published QS Best Student Cities 2026 Ranking by QS.
To start, candidates should note that only cities that have a population of over 250,000 and are home to at least two universities featured in the most recent QS World University Rankings 2026 are eligible for this ranking. Hence, only 164 cities have qualified for this QS Best Student City survey.
Now coming to the ranking methodology:
- University rankings: The university ranking takes into account the number of universities that are featured in the recently published QS World University Rankings 2026.
- Student mix: Student mix would include, how many international students are enrolled in the city, what is the proportion of the city's population, and finally, how inclusive the city and the country it's located.
- Desirability: How safe is the city, what are the pollution levels like in the city, and how many respondents to the student survey wanted to study in the city?
- Employer activity: What is youth employment like in the city? What do employers think of the graduates produced by universities in the city?
- Affordability: How much does tuition cost at the city's universities, and what is the cost of living for students in the city?
- Student voice: What ratings did students give the city's friendliness, sustainability, diversity, and more? What proportion of students continue to live in the city after graduation?
We would love to hear from you. Looking for admission-related queries? Write to us in the comments below or sign up for free for Shiksha Abroad Counselling.
International students seeking admission to Lincoln University New Zealand must show English language proficiency and they can do so by submitting IELTS score or by any other scores.
Particulars | Minimum Scores for Master’s Degrees | Minimum Scores for Bachelor’s Degrees |
|---|---|---|
IELTS | 6.5 overall, with no individual component below 6.0 | 6.0 overall, with no individual component less than 5.5 |
TOEFL iBT | 80 overall (with at least 21 in Writing and 18 in Speaking) | 60 overall |
PTE | 58 overall, with no communicative skill less than 50 | 50 overall |
There are various ways in which applying to California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) is different from applying to other US universities. These are the main variations, according to the data at hand:
- First is the Application Procedure. Cal Poly uses Cal State to process online applications. Applying is open to both first-year and transfer students from October 1, 2026 through November 30, 2026. To increase their chances of being selected, students must select a major and review the selection criteria when submitting their applications.
- Second are the application requirements. Typically, the application calls for a transcript from high school, a college prep course load, and a high school GPA. It is not necessary nor advised to have SAT or ACT results.
- Unless the applicant is exempt from paying an application cost, there is a $70 application fee per campus. Email is the main method of communication used during the admissions process.
Pick your stage and get free guidance from counsellors who've helped thousands get into top universities.
Starting research
Shortlisting colleges
Exam preparation
SOP/LOR writing
Scholarship & finance
Visa application
Statement of Purpose
Letter of Recommendation
Student Visa Application
Admission Essay Writing
Student Curriculum Vitae
Whitireia, New Zealand, is well-known for a number of things like it has a broad selection of programs in numerous fields like the arts, business, construction, engineering, health, hospitality, and information technology, providing an excellent postsecondary education experience. Parumoana Community College, being its native name the school has provided vocational education in New Zealand. Through their joint council and strategic partnership, Whitireia and the Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec) provide students with additional academic alternatives and possibilities.