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VARNA FREE UNIVERSITY ENTERS THE PRESTIGIOUS QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKING
30 January 2026
Varna Free University "Chernorizets Hrabar" is included in the prestigious international ranking QS Europe Region Ranking, which this year covers 958 higher education institutions from all over Europe and reflects the current state and development of university education in a European context.
The ranking includes only nine leading Bulgarian universities, among which is Varna Free University. Some of these universities, including ours, are included for the first time, which emphasises the competitive nature of the ranking.
The presence of Varna Free University in the international QS rankings is complemented by its inclusion in the QS World University Rankings: Eastern Europe 2026, where the university occupies position =162 in the regional ranking for Eastern Europe, and is also ranked in the wider European format. This reflects the consistent expansion of the university’s academic and research presence beyond the national framework.
To be included in the QS rankings, universities must be nominated in the academic reputation survey and have a minimum of 100 scientific publications indexed in Scopus over a five-year period. The assessment is carried out according to 12 indicators, including academic and employer reputation, scientific output, citations, research activity, international partnerships and professional realization of graduates.
According to the published data and the QS methodology, the performance of Varna Free University "Chernorizets Hrabar" stands out in indicators related to the employability of graduates (Employment Outcomes), the relationship with employers (Employer Reputation), academic presence and scientific production, as well as institutional transparency and participation in international evaluation processes. Meeting the requirements for academic reputation and the number of scientific publications indexed in Scopus is among the key factors for the inclusion of the university in the QS rankings.
The ranking places Bulgarian universities in a broad regional framework, in which 21 universities from Romania, 19 from Greece, as well as higher education institutions from Serbia and North Macedonia participate. On a European scale, universities from the United Kingdom, Germany and Turkey have the strongest presence, and among the leading institutions are the University of Oxford, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and Imperial College in London.
The international recognition is also complemented by the results of Varna Free University in the digital environment. In 2025, the university ranked in the TOP 4 of Bulgarian universities in terms of digital reputation according to another global ranking - UniRank, which confirms the sustainable efforts for visibility, transparency and active communication with students, partners and the academic community in Bulgaria and abroad.
The inclusion of Varna Free University "Chernorizets Hrabar" in rankings such as QS and UniRank is a sign of its establishment as a university with a European presence and a clear direction of development in a highly competitive academic environment.
