Top 100 Universities by Student-to-Faculty Ratio, 2026
Universities with the lowest student-to-staff ratios
Student-to-staff ratio compares the number of students reported for each academic staff member. A lower value usually points to a more staff-intensive academic structure, although it is not the same as class size and does not directly measure teaching quality, research strength, student satisfaction or graduate outcomes.
This edition uses the latest publicly available Times Higher Education Top 100 extract for this metric: the student-to-staff-ratio table published on February 21, 2024 and compiled from THE World University Rankings 2024 data. THE World University Rankings 2026 continues to display “Students per staff” in university profiles, but THE has not released a separate public Top 100 table for this exact metric for 2026.
The metric is most informative when comparing institutions with similar subject profiles. Medicine, laboratory sciences and postgraduate research naturally require more staff per student than lecture-heavy programmes, so the ratio should be interpreted alongside programme mix, enrolment scale and staff definitions.
Brighton and Sussex Medical School has the lowest value in THE’s published Top 100 extract.
The table covers 100 institutions with the lowest reported students-per-staff values in the source extract.
Values come from THE’s published 2024 student-to-staff-ratio table.
The page is maintained as the 2026 edition using the latest public THE Top 100 extract for this metric.
What does student-to-staff ratio measure?
The indicator divides the number of students by the staff count used in the ranking dataset. It gives a compact view of staffing intensity: a university with 4.0 students per staff member has a very different reported resource structure from one with 18 or 25 students per staff member.
The metric is especially sensitive to institutional profile. Medical schools, health-science universities, graduate-heavy research institutions and specialist colleges often rank highly because clinical education, laboratory teaching and research supervision require more staff relative to enrolled students.
Top 10 universities by student-to-staff ratio
The top ten are almost entirely specialist medical or health-science institutions. Medical education depends on clinical training, supervised practice, hospital-linked instruction and intensive staff support, which keeps the reported number of students per staff member unusually low.
| Position | University | Country / territory | Students per staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brighton and Sussex Medical School | United Kingdom | 0.3 |
| 2 | St Marianna University School of Medicine | Japan | 0.8 |
| 3 | Jikei University School of Medicine | Japan | 0.9 |
| 4 | Nippon Medical School | Japan | 0.9 |
| 5 | Oregon Health and Science University | United States | 0.9 |
| 6 | Dokkyo Medical University | Japan | 1.2 |
| 7 | Saitama Medical University | Japan | 1.4 |
| 8 | Showa University | Japan | 1.6 |
| 9 | Qazvin University of Medical Sciences | Iran | 1.6 |
| 10 | Kansai Medical University | Japan | 1.6 |
Equal values are listed separately; the ranking does not imply differences in teaching quality between institutions with the same ratio.
Chart: lowest student-to-staff ratios in the Top 20
The first twenty institutions range from 0.3 to 3.4 students per staff member. The concentration of medical universities at the top shows how strongly the metric reflects teaching model, clinical training and institutional type.
Methodology
Student-to-staff ratio is calculated as reported students divided by the academic staff count used in the source ranking dataset. The ranking is ordered from the lowest ratio to the highest: fewer reported students per academic staff member means a higher place in this table.
Calculation logic
Student-to-staff ratio = reported students / reported academic staff count used by Times Higher Education.
Data period
The numerical Top 100 values come from THE’s 2024 student-to-staff-ratio extract, published on February 21, 2024 and compiled from THE World University Rankings 2024 data.
Ranking and rounding
Institutions are sorted from the lowest to the highest ratio. Equal values remain separate rows. Values are shown with one decimal place where the source uses decimals.
Comparability limits
Definitions of staff, full-time-equivalent treatment, clinical staff inclusion, research-only staff and reporting windows can differ across countries and ranking systems.
Values from THE should not be directly compared with QS, national datasets or university dashboards unless staff and student definitions are aligned. Ranking providers may differ in how they count full-time-equivalent staff, clinical staff, research-only staff, affiliated hospital staff, visiting staff and student categories. For a fuller picture, compare the ratio with class size, contact hours, completion rates, funding per student and programme-level outcomes.
Full ranking: Top 100 universities by lowest student-to-staff ratio
The table can be narrowed by institution, country or ratio band to compare universities with similar staffing profiles while keeping the original rank visible.
| Position | University | Country / territory | Students per staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brighton and Sussex Medical School | United Kingdom | 0.3 |
| 2 | St Marianna University School of Medicine | Japan | 0.8 |
| 3 | Jikei University School of Medicine | Japan | 0.9 |
| 4 | Nippon Medical School | Japan | 0.9 |
| 5 | Oregon Health and Science University | United States | 0.9 |
| 6 | Dokkyo Medical University | Japan | 1.2 |
| 7 | Saitama Medical University | Japan | 1.4 |
| 8 | Showa University | Japan | 1.6 |
| 9 | Qazvin University of Medical Sciences | Iran | 1.6 |
| 10 | Kansai Medical University | Japan | 1.6 |
| 11 | Guangzhou Medical University | China | 1.7 |
| 12 | University of Nebraska Medical Center | United States | 2.0 |
| 13 | Rush University | United States | 2.1 |
| 14 | Kanazawa Medical University | Japan | 2.1 |
| 15 | University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan | Japan | 2.5 |
| 16 | Aichi Medical University | Japan | 2.9 |
| 17 | Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine | Japan | 3.2 |
| 18 | Shiga University of Medical Science | Japan | 3.2 |
| 19 | Sapporo Medical University | Japan | 3.3 |
| 20 | Tokyo Medical University | Japan | 3.4 |
| 21 | Fujita Health University | Japan | 3.6 |
| 22 | Duke University | United States | 3.9 |
| 23 | Kerman University of Medical Sciences | Iran | 3.9 |
| 24 | Vanderbilt University | United States | 3.9 |
| 25 | Emory University | United States | 4.0 |
| 26 | Wake Forest University | United States | 4.1 |
| 27 | Hamamatsu University School of Medicine | Japan | 4.1 |
| 28 | Johns Hopkins University | United States | 4.1 |
| 29 | Montanuniversität Leoben | Austria | 4.2 |
| 30 | University of Copenhagen | Denmark | 4.3 |
| 31 | Wakayama Medical University | Japan | 4.3 |
| 32 | Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) | Japan | 4.4 |
| 33 | University of Colorado Denver / Anschutz Medical Campus | United States | 4.5 |
| 34 | National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) | Pakistan | 4.6 |
| 35 | Hyogo Medical University | Japan | 4.6 |
| 36 | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences | Sweden | 4.7 |
| 37 | Capital Medical University | China | 4.9 |
| 38 | Juntendo University | Japan | 5.0 |
| 39 | Kitasato University | Japan | 5.2 |
| 40 | Columbia University | United States | 5.2 |
| 41 | Yale University | United States | 5.2 |
| 42 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus | United States | 5.4 |
| 43 | Medical University of Gdańsk | Poland | 5.4 |
| 44 | Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University | Japan | 5.5 |
| 45 | SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) | United Kingdom | 5.6 |
| 46 | Medical University of Lublin | Poland | 5.7 |
| 47 | Medical University of Sofia | Bulgaria | 5.7 |
| 48 | Acıbadem University | Turkey | 5.7 |
| 49 | Al-Farabi Kazakh National University | Kazakhstan | 5.9 |
| 50 | Al-Nahrain University | Iraq | 5.9 |
| 51 | Poznan University of Medical Sciences | Poland | 6.0 |
| 52 | Yokohama City University | Japan | 6.0 |
| 53 | California Institute of Technology | United States | 6.1 |
| 54 | The University of Chicago | United States | 6.2 |
| 55 | University of Yamanashi | Japan | 6.2 |
| 56 | Tehran University of Medical Sciences | Iran | 6.2 |
| 57 | University of Pennsylvania | United States | 6.2 |
| 58 | Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) | South Korea | 6.3 |
| 59 | Universidade Lusófona | Portugal | 6.4 |
| 60 | Stanford University | United States | 6.4 |
| 61 | Medical University of Warsaw | Poland | 6.4 |
| 62 | University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland | Switzerland | 6.5 |
| 63 | Mustansiriyah University | Iraq | 6.5 |
| 64 | Nagasaki University | Japan | 6.7 |
| 65 | Institut Polytechnique de Paris | France | 6.8 |
| 66 | Hellenic Open University | Greece | 6.8 |
| 67 | IPB University | Indonesia | 6.8 |
| 68 | El Bosque University | Colombia | 6.8 |
| 69 | University of Technology, Iraq | Iraq | 6.9 |
| 70 | Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences | India | 7.1 |
| 71 | Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember | Indonesia | 7.1 |
| 72 | Niigata University | Japan | 7.2 |
| 73 | Universitas Airlangga | Indonesia | 7.2 |
| 74 | Icesi University | Colombia | 7.2 |
| 75 | Acharya Nagarjuna University | India | 7.3 |
| 76 | Bharati Vidyapeeth University | India | 7.3 |
| 77 | Saint Louis University | United States | 7.3 |
| 78 | Washington University in St Louis | United States | 7.3 |
| 79 | Princeton University | United States | 7.3 |
| 80 | Pontifical Catholic University of Peru | Peru | 7.3 |
| 81 | University of Rochester | United States | 7.3 |
| 82 | Medical University of Silesia in Katowice | Poland | 7.3 |
| 83 | Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies – Pisa | Italy | 7.4 |
| 84 | Nagoya City University | Japan | 7.4 |
| 85 | University of South China | China | 7.4 |
| 86 | University of Miyazaki | Japan | 7.4 |
| 87 | Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa | Italy | 7.4 |
| 88 | Dartmouth College | United States | 7.4 |
| 89 | Arak University of Medical Sciences | Iran | 7.4 |
| 90 | Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education | India | 7.5 |
| 91 | Sofia University | Bulgaria | 7.5 |
| 92 | Gunma University | Japan | 7.6 |
| 93 | Hiroshima University | Japan | 7.6 |
| 94 | University of Fukui | Japan | 7.6 |
| 95 | University of Toyama | Japan | 7.8 |
| 96 | Central European University | Austria | 7.8 |
| 97 | Rice University | United States | 7.9 |
| 98 | Okayama University | Japan | 7.9 |
| 99 | University of California, San Francisco | United States | 8.0 |
| 100 | University of Science and Technology of China | China | 8.0 |
Source note: values are from Times Higher Education’s published 2024 Top 100 student-to-staff-ratio extract, released February 21, 2024. Page version: May 30, 2026.
Insights from the student-to-staff-ratio ranking
Medical universities dominate the top tier
The lowest ratios are concentrated in medical schools and health-science universities. Their teaching model requires clinical supervision, small-group instruction, laboratory work and hospital-linked staff capacity, so the reported ratio can be much lower than in comprehensive universities.
Large research universities still appear
Duke, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Yale, Chicago, Pennsylvania, Stanford and Princeton show that low ratios are not restricted to small institutions. These universities combine large research staff bases, postgraduate intensity and strong funding capacity.
Japan is the most visible country in the table, with 31 Japanese institutions in the Top 100. The United States follows with 21. That distribution is shaped less by general national university quality and more by the number of specialist medical schools, medical campuses and research-heavy institutions captured by the metric.
The lower part of the Top 100 still represents unusually staff-intensive institutions. A value near 7.5 or 8.0 students per staff member is low by global higher-education standards, but the interpretation changes by subject mix: a technical institute, a medical school and a liberal arts university can reach similar ratios for different structural reasons.
What this means for readers
Applicants can treat the ratio as an early signal of how staff-intensive a university may feel in practice. A low ratio can support more supervision, feedback, laboratory access or clinical mentoring, but programme-level class size and contact hours matter more for the everyday student experience.
Universities can use the metric to benchmark whether their staffing model is unusually intensive for their subject mix. The ratio is especially relevant for medicine, engineering, laboratory sciences and postgraduate research, where supervision and specialist facilities are central to delivery.
Policymakers can use the ratio as an early signal of how staff-intensive a university system or subject area is. Low ratios are costly to maintain, so the important question is whether staffing levels translate into stronger learning, completion, research and graduate outcomes.
FAQ
Which university has the lowest student-to-staff ratio in this table?
Brighton and Sussex Medical School ranks first with 0.3 students per staff member in THE’s published 2024 Top 100 extract for this metric.
Why is this page labelled as a 2026 edition?
THE World University Rankings 2026 continues to show “Students per staff” in university profiles. The complete Top 100 numerical extract used here is THE’s latest public table for this metric, published in 2024.
What is a strong student-to-staff ratio?
There is no single global threshold. Values below 10 students per staff member are generally very staff-intensive, but a fair comparison depends on whether the institution is a medical school, technical institute, research university or broad teaching university.
Does a lower ratio guarantee better teaching?
No. A low ratio can create better conditions for feedback and supervision, but teaching quality also depends on curriculum design, staff availability, assessment practice, student services, facilities and programme outcomes.
Is student-to-staff ratio the same as class size?
No. Class size describes how many students sit in a class or teaching group. Student-to-staff ratio compares total reported students with total reported staff across the institution, so some lectures can still be large even at a university with a low overall ratio.
Why do medical schools rank so highly?
Medical schools need clinical supervision, laboratory teaching, hospital-linked staff and intensive practical instruction. Those requirements usually mean more staff per student than in lecture-based programmes.
Can THE and QS show different ratios for the same university?
Yes. Ranking systems can use different reporting windows, staff definitions and full-time-equivalent rules. Clinical staff, research-only staff and affiliated hospital staff may also be treated differently.
Should applicants choose a university by this metric alone?
No. It is a useful screening metric, but applicants should also check programme content, tuition, scholarships, location, housing, visa rules, career outcomes, student support and total student experience.
Sources
-
Times Higher Education — Top universities with the best student-to-staff ratio 2024
Main source for the complete Top 100 table and the students-per-staff values used in this page. -
Times Higher Education — World University Rankings 2026
Used to confirm the current THE World University Rankings 2026 publication cycle and the continued use of student/staff statistics in university profiles. -
Times Higher Education — World University Rankings methodology
Used to check how THE describes ranking data collection, institutional reporting and comparability limits.
