We created the EDUopinions Student Reviews Guide to highlight students’ opinions of universities. All of the rankings we produce as part of the Guide are based entirely on student ratings, providing a unique perspective on student satisfaction with university education. This year’s edition, the Student Reviews Guide 2026, features more rankings than ever, covering student life, international student perspectives, career prospects, and more.
The results of this year’s Student Reviews Guide are based on over 3,400 reviews posted for universities in Europe in 2025. The country whose universities gathered the most student reviews was the UK, with 816, followed by Italy (343) and Spain (281). We excluded any countries with fewer than 10 overall student reviews for their universities, and for our university rankings, each institution needed at least 10 or 20 reviews (depending on the ranking) to be included.
Our rankings cover different aspects of the student experience, from the best student cities to the degrees that offer the best career prospects.
If you haven’t had a chance to read the full rankings this year, these are our hand-picked Student Reviews Guide highlights.
Student Reviews Guide 2026: Top Universities Of the Year
Our ranking of the best universities of the year is the most significant ranking in the Student Reviews Guide. It’s the only university ranking decided entirely by students’ opinions of their university experience, and as a result, it reflects real levels of student satisfaction across Europe.
This year, Anglo-American University in Prague took the top spot, followed by Vilnius University and the University of Leeds. Vilnius University ranked number one in 2025, but it’s one place drop doesn’t represent a significant drop in student satisfaction: this year, it scored 4.68/5 overall, compared to 4.58/5 overall.
In fact, the average rating for all universities in the top ten this year was higher than in the previous ranking, illustrating that students, on the whole, are more satisfied with their university experience, regardless of where they choose to study.
There are six countries represented in the full top ten, with Prague, Poland, and the UK all having more than one university in the ranking. As a result, this year’s ranking is marginally less diverse than in 2025, when nine countries were represented in the top 10.
Our second ranking of the best universities for international students, which is decided entirely by ratings posted by international students, showed a preference for UK universities; there are seven in the top 10. This is an increase in the number of UK universities that appeared in last year’s ranking of the best universities for international students.
Read the Student Reviews Guide 2026: Top 10 Universities in Europe
Top Business Schools of the Year
The top three spots are held by EHL Hospitality Business School in Switzerland, ISM University of Management and Economics in Lithuania, and MIB Trieste School of Management in Italy. None of these three are in destinations perceived as traditional destinations for business students, illustrating that strong business education can be found outside of more established cities and institutions.
In contrast to our university ranking, our business school ranking this year is more varied, with seven countries represented in the top 10, up from five last year. The country with the most business institutions in the ranking is Spain, which may surprise some – it doesn’t have the same business school prestige as European destinations such as France or the UK. All of the Spanish schools on the list are based in Barcelona: the Johan Cruyff Institute, C3S Business School, and EADA Business School.
This year, the best business school for international students is ISM University of Management and Economics. Its high rating of 4.8/5 would place this business school at the top of our overall institution ranking if we hadn’t split our analysis between business schools and universities.
Read the Student Reviews Guide 2026: Top 10 Business Schools in Europe
Best and Worst Degrees for Job Prospects
There aren’t many surprises in this year’s ranking of the best and worst degrees for job prospects. The best? That title goes to Project Management, with a career prospects rating of 4.64/5. The worst degree for careers, as rated by students, is Modern Languages, with a rating of 3.10/5.
In line with general perceptions of employability prospects, our ranking of the best degrees for jobs features largely STEM degrees, including Chemical Engineering, Nursing, and Electrical Engineering. Meanwhile, the list of worst degrees steers heavily towards Humanities subjects, including History, Linguistics, and Art & Design. One possible shock is that Pharmacy and Pharmacology ranks third-worst for job prospects.
Read the Student Reviews Guide 2026: Best and Worst Degrees for Job Prospects
Top Student Cities in Europe
Our top student cities ranking showcases the best large destinations for students – those cities (capitals and larger cities) whose universities have the best student life ratings.
For the second year in a row, Prague has topped our student cities ranking. The capital of Czechia boasts a variety of institutions, from specialised to historic, alongside a vibrant, memorable student lifestyle. The city’s average student life rating also increased this year, from 4.22 to 4.39.
The other destinations in the top three are Amsterdam and Bologna, both of which enter our top-10 city ranking for the first time this year. This is a significant change – these two smaller destinations have knocked Barcelona and Paris, major capital cities, out of the top three.
Read the Student Reviews Guide 2026: Top Student Cities in Europe
Top Hidden Gem Student Cities in Europe
We love highlighting lesser-known destinations in Europe where students can experience a memorable study experience. Our hidden-gems ranking includes destinations that received fewer reviews (because they are smaller) but received significantly strong ratings.
The best hidden gem city in the Student Reviews Guide 2026 is Lyon, which, granted, may not be a surprise to French students. Lyon is the third-largest city in France, but is often overshadowed as a student destination by Paris.
Making up the rest of the top three are Leeds in the UK and Lausanne in Switzerland. The UK performs strongly in this ranking, perhaps because there are top-ranked universities in every corner of the UK, including major institutions in the cities that make our ranking – Leeds, Durham, Bath, and Liverpool – despite these being much smaller locations than London.
Read the Student Reviews Guide 2026: Hidden Gem Student Cities in Europe
Read more from the Student Reviews Guide 2026
If you’re interested in reading more from the Student Reviews Guide, you’ll find a full breakdown of each ranking, along with highlighted student reviews, in each of our guides:
- The Top 10 Universities of the Year
- The Top 10 Business Schools of the Year
- The Best and Worst Degrees for Job Prospects
- The Top 10 Student Cities in Europe
- The Top 10 Hidden Gem Student Cities in Europe
Do you have a question about our data or methodology? Book a meeting with one of the EDUopinions team to find out more.
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