RAEX Rating Agency has drawn up the fourteenth annual ranking of the top Russian universities, RAEX-100, which is part of “The Three University Missions” family. In 2026, universities from 30 Russian regions have been included in this list of the best.
South Ural State University has taken the 42th place, having improved its last year’s result by 1 position and having become the only representative of the Chelyabinsk Region in this ranking.
“My congratulations to our whole university team on this well-deserved assessment of our work by the expert community. The steady progress in this prestigious Russian ranking proves that we chose a correct development strategy and it yields tangible results,” noted Rector Alexander Wagner.
The Agency compiles its ranking of the leading universities based on data on their education quality and research activity. It also takes into consideration the level of science and research, and the demand for their graduates among employers.
Universities of the engineering category still constitute the most massive bulk in this ranking, and their number keeps growing, the Agency explains. The 2026 list of the best educational institutions includes 39 engineering-and-technical universities, and this is by three universities more than two years ago. At the same time, the share of classical universities reduces: from 28 in 2024 to 24 in the current survey publication.
To prepare this survey, statistical indicators were used, as well as the results of polling among more than 150000 respondents: representatives of academic and scientific communities, students, graduates, and employers.
Check out this ranking and results of universities by clicking this link