UBA holds its ground as Argentina slides
The University of Buenos Aires (UBA) retained tenth place in the 2027 QS World University Rankings: Latin America and the Caribbean, the same position it has held since 2025, according to the regional edition published by the British consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The ranking covers 517 institutions across 27 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. UBA remains the highest-ranked Argentine university, followed by the National University of La Plata (UNLP) at 21st and Universidad Austral at 25th, both unchanged from the previous year.[S1][S2]
Despite UBA's stability, Argentina recorded the largest net decline among Latin American systems with at least ten ranked universities. Of the Argentine institutions already classified, 17 fell in the rankings, eight improved and 20 stayed the same. Argentina has 46 universities in the ranking, making it the fourth most represented country after Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. QS attributed the overall setback to the impact of continuous financial restrictions, while noting that Argentine universities still perform well in academic reputation, employer recognition and teaching resources.[S1][S2]
Gains and losses across Argentine institutions
Among the notable improvements, the National University of Córdoba (UNC) climbed from 33rd to 30th, entering the regional top 30 for the first time. Universidad de San Andrés rose from 51st to 44th, and the National University of San Martín (UNSAM) advanced from 102nd to 94th, its best historical position in this classification. On the other side, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella dropped from 48th to 65th, the National University of Rosario fell from 62nd to 72nd, and the National University of the Litoral slipped from 87th to 100th. The National University of Cuyo, ITBA, the National University of the South (UNS) and the National University of Mar del Plata (UNMdP) also declined. Universidad Maimónides joined the ranking for the first time, placed in the 401+ band.[S1][S3]
At the top of the regional table, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile returned to first place, followed by the University of São Paulo and the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) in Brazil. The rest of the top ten includes Tecnológico de Monterrey, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UNESP, the University of Chile, the University of the Andes in Colombia and UNAM. UBA is the only Argentine institution in the top ten.[S1][S3]
Reputation strong, research weak
The QS regional ranking is built on eight indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, citations per paper, papers per faculty, proportion of staff with a doctorate, web impact and international research network. UBA ranks second in Latin America for both academic reputation and employer reputation. In academic reputation it trails only the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), while among employers it comes behind the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Other Argentine public universities also stand out in academic reputation: UNLP is 13th regionally and UNC is 20th. In employer reputation, Universidad Austral, the Catholic University of Argentina and UNLP join UBA in the top 20.[S1][S2]
Research remains a weak point for the Argentine system. No Argentine university appears among the top 50 in the region for citations per paper, and none is in the top 90 for papers published per faculty member. In both indicators, Argentina's average is below the regional average. The picture is better for international research networks, where UBA ranks tenth in Latin America, UNLP 32nd and UNC 43rd. QS noted a contrast between that international integration and weaker results in productivity, publication impact and availability of staff with doctorates. Another strength is the faculty-student ratio, where Argentina achieves the highest average among the most represented countries in the ranking.[S1]
Budget pressures and private-sector strengths
QS highlighted the budget difficulties facing the Argentine system when presenting the results. The report states that public universities experienced real-terms funding reductions since December 2023. Between 2023 and 2025, national investment in education fell 41.2%, funding for public universities dropped 28.9%, and spending on scientific research declined 43.9%. Four Argentine institutions, all private, rank among the top 20 in the region: the Catholic University of Argentina at 5th, Universidad Austral at 10th, UADE at 11th and the University of Palermo at 14th. Lorena Bolzon, vice-rector for students and extension at Universidad Austral, said the focus on personalized education helps foster the comprehensive development of each student.[S1][S3]
