The international QS Sustainability Rankings 2026 assess the contribution of universities to the sustainable development challenges defined by the United Nations. A total of 1,994 universities from around the world were evaluated in the competition’s fourth year, which represents an increase of 250 compared to the previous year.
According to the rankings, Masaryk University is a leader in ethical and transparent conduct. With a score 98.2 out of 100 points, MUNI ranks highest in the area of Good Governance, placing it 67th in the world and 1st among Czech universities in this category. The assessment is based on 10 indicators monitoring ethical, transparent and environmental aspects of university governance – from their definition in strategic documents to the practical application of the declared values and principles in the everyday functioning of the institution.
In the area of good governance, for example, the university has to demonstrate whether it has clearly defined ethical values in its public strategic document, whether it communicates its financial results transparently, publishes minutes of meetings of its governing bodies, and whether students are represented in these bodies. The ranking also takes into account the activities of Masaryk University’s Board for Sustainable Development, the Ethics Committee, the Ombuds and the Equal Opportunities Panel, as well as the university’s support for student associations. The Good Governance assessment also includes citations of publications related to SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) in public documents according to Scopus.
Masaryk University’s second strongest area is Knowledge Exchange, where it ranks 98th in the world and has improved by 26 places year-on-year, making it the best university in the Czech Republic. The category – in which MU has achieved a total score of 96.3 out of 100 – is based on four indicators. The university is recognised for its scientific collaborations with institutions in developing countries, as well as for its wide range of lifelong learning opportunities and the many educational events it holds on topics of interest to society as a whole. The ranking also takes into account the extent to which the publications of authors from MUNI (addressing SDGs 1–6 and 8–10) are reflected in public documents.
There is room for improvement in the categories of Environmental Sustainability and Impact of Education. In the first category of Environmental Sustainability, MUNI ranked 630th globally with a score of 46.8 out of 100. The assessment is based on 10 indicators. In the area of internal culture and governance, this category includes operational emission efficiency, a commitment to carbon neutrality, own production of renewable energy and the existence of an approved sustainable development strategy. Masaryk University lacks, for example, the commitment to carbon neutrality within a clearly defined time frame and a mechanism for monitoring progress in its implementation. Another important metric in this category is called Alumni Impact. This assesses the success of graduates from a particular institution in the private and commercial sectors through relevant awards such as Forbes 30 Under 30: Social Entrepreneurs, the Stockholm Water Prize, and the FT’s Climate Leaders, as well as the institution’s membership in important sustainable development groups (U7 Alliance, HESI Network, and others).
In the Impact of Education category, MUNI scores 72.8 out of 100, which puts it in 526th place overall. The category is based on five indicators, the most important of which is bibliometric data from the Scopus database linked to the implementation of SDG 4 (Quality Education). For these publications, the total number of citations, the average FWCI per publication and their share in the top 10% of journals according to CiteScore (Scopus) are monitored. The results also reflect responses in a reputation survey among academics and significant achievements of MU graduates, measured, for example, by international awards.
Masaryk University has been included in the QS Sustainability Rankings since their first publication in 2022. The number of universities participating in this competition has been growing every year. This year, MUNI ranked 266th, compared to 215th last year, as well as 133rd in Europe, and is the second highest ranked institution in the Czech Republic. Charles University also fell in the rankings, placing 258th (218th last year). In third place among Czech universities is the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, ranked 346th in the world (283rd last year), followed by Palacký University Olomouc in fourth place, ranked 423rd (360th last year). Behind them are the Brno University of Technology in 500th place (477th last year) and the Czech Technical University in Prague in 591st place (646th last year). A total of fifteen Czech universities were included in the ranking this year, three more than last year. New entrants to the ranking are the Prague University of Economics and Business (1251st–1300th place), the Technical University of Liberec (1401st–1500th place) and the University of Hradec Králové (1501+).
The top three places in the world this year were taken by Lund University (Sweden), the University of Toronto (Canada) and University College London (United Kingdom).
A comprehensive overview of Masaryk University’s activities in the area of sustainability is provided in the Masaryk University Sustainability Report for 2024. Like the general MU Annual Report on Activities, this MU Annual Sustainability Report is also drawn up in full compliance with the MU Strategic Plan 2021–2028.