Sorbonne University decides to withdraw from the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings
As of 2026, Sorbonne University will no longer submit data to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. The decision comes as part of a wider approach to promote open science and reform research assessment, in accordance with the university’s commitment to the CoARA Agreement and the Barcelona Declaration. Sorbonne University is choosing open and transparent databases to assess its academic performance.
Sorbonne University has chosen to withdraw from the World University Rankings, produced by Times Higher Education (THE). The university will stop sharing the data required to be included in the ranking as of 2026. As a result, Sorbonne University will no longer feature in future rankings produced by THE, which include the World University Rankings, the Rankings by Subject or the Impact Rankings.
This choice marks a new chapter in Sorbonne University’s ambitious and voluntarist strategy for Open Science and the reform of research assessment.
It comes as part of the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, coordinated by the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), which was signed in 2022 by Sorbonne University. This agreement recommends “avoiding the use of rankings of research organisations in research assessment”.
This decision is a demonstration of how the principles of the Barcelona Declaration (of which Sorbonne University was one of the first signatories) are being applied to the university’s open research information practices. The university has never subscribed to the database Scopus, which is used by THE rankings to assess certain indicators. In addition, Sorbonne University has decided to unsubscribe from the Web of Science, to refocus its attention on free, open and participative infrastructures like OpenAlex. The declaration highlights the importance of using open research information and supporting the services, systems and infrastructure which allow for it to be produced and shared.
“While international university rankings are used as key communication tools in the global higher education system today, they cannot be used as management tools for universities,” said Nathalie Drach-Temam, President of Sorbonne University. “The data used to assess each university’s performance is not open or transparent. The reproducibility of the results produced cannot be guaranteed. Furthermore, the indicators used to calculate an institution’s overall score struggle to convey the diversity and multidimensional impact of the work universities carry out, preferring criteria based on reputation and prestige rather than the long-term benefits of basic research, student success and the social and societal impact of a university’s research and education activities.”