Rankings: The 4 best universities in Serbia for 2025/2026
Photo by Boris Hamer
Serbia is an attractive destination for international students seeking quality education at an affordable cost. With a mix of long-standing academic traditions and modern development, Serbian universities offer English-taught programmes in fields such as medicine, engineering, economics, and the arts.
As a non-EU country with close ties to the European Higher Education Area, Serbia provides globally recognised degrees and participates in international exchange programmes like Erasmus+.
Below you will find the best universities in Serbia for international students, based on academic reputation, internationalisation, programme variety, and student support. Leading institutions include the University of Belgrade, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the region, as well as the University of Novi Sad and University of Niš. These universities offer a range of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English and are actively involved in research and international cooperation.
Beyond academics, Serbia offers a dynamic student lifestyle with a low cost of living, lively cultural scene, and welcoming atmosphere. Whether you study in the capital Belgrade, the university town of Novi Sad, or other cities, you’ll experience a rich blend of history, tradition, and modern student life.
| University | QS Ranking 2025 | THE Ranking 2025 | ARWU Ranking 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Belgrade | 731 | 1001 | 401 |
| University of Novi Sad | 1001 | 1501 | 901 |
| University of Kragujevac | 1201 | 1001 | – |
| University of Niš | 1201 | – | – |
The QS World University Rankings are among the most important, most-referenced rankings. The QS ranking relies heavily on its academic survey, asking thousands of academics worldwide about the reputation of universities.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (or the THE Rankings for short) compile a wide range of statistics. Equal weight is put on teaching quality, research excellence, and research impact through citations (meaning how often a university’s research is referenced elsewhere).
The Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (often just Shanghai Ranking, or ARWU) focuses on research output and quality, for example measured by the number of published and cited scientific papers and the number of staff or alumni winning the Nobel Prize or Fields Medal.
Serbia may be best known for its rich history and culture, but it’s also an excellent place to study abroad. With several well-regarded universities and a growing selection of English-taught programmes, more and more international students are choosing Serbia for their higher education.
Read more about studying in Serbia
