An-Najah National University has once again secured its place in the prestigious U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings 2026–2027, reaffirming its position as the only Palestinian university featured in this internationally recognized ranking. The U.S. News rankings are among the world's leading university rankings, evaluating institutions primarily on the basis of their research performance and global academic reputation.

The University ranked 1,183rd globally among the world's best universities and 419th in Asia, marking a significant improvement over the 2025–2026 edition, in which it ranked 1,304th globally and 458th in Asia. This represents an advance of 121 places worldwide and 39 places in Asia within a single year, reflecting continued progress in research performance and a stronger presence in the global higher education landscape.

At the subject level, An-Najah achieved a remarkable milestone in Physics, rising to 372nd globally in the 2026–2027 rankings from 670th globally in the previous edition—an impressive gain of 298 places. This significant advancement reflects the quality, diversity, and scientific impact of the University's research output in physics, as well as its strong commitment to publishing in high-impact international journals and expanding strategic research collaborations with leading institutions, including CERN, Paris-Saclay University, and other internationally recognized research centers. These partnerships have played a key role in enhancing both the quality and international visibility of the University's research in the field.

The University's outstanding performance in Physics is further reflected in several subject-specific indicators. It ranked 15th globally for International Collaboration in Physics and 56th globally for the Percentage of Publications Among the Top 10% Most Cited Papers in Physics, underscoring the quality, international reach, and scientific influence of its research.

The 2026–2027 edition also marks the University's debut in the Clinical Medicine subject ranking, where it placed 1,022nd globally. This first-time inclusion reflects the expanding breadth of the University's research excellence and its growing scientific impact in the medical and health sciences. Within this discipline, An-Najah achieved particularly strong results in several research indicators, ranking 125th globally in Normalized Citation Impact and 322nd globally in the Percentage of Publications Among the Top 1% Most Highly Cited Papers Worldwide.

Across the overall ranking indicators, the University demonstrated notable improvements in several measures of research performance. Its Global Research Reputation climbed from 1,288th in the 2025–2026 edition to 1,057th in 2026–2027, while its Regional Research Reputation advanced from 256th to 229th. The University also moved up in Publications (from 2,052nd to 1,958th), Books (from 1,262nd to 1,152nd), Normalized Citation Impact (from 460th to 383rd), and Total Citations (from 1,716th to 1,634th).

The results also demonstrate substantial progress in the quality and impact of the University's research output, particularly in highly cited publications. The University climbed from 1,838th to 1,609th in the Number of Publications Among the Top 1% Most Highly Cited Papers Worldwide, while its ranking for the Percentage of Publications Among the Top 1% Most Highly Cited Papers Worldwide rose significantly from 1,264th to 840th. These achievements highlight the increasing global influence and visibility of An-Najah's research.

The U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings assess universities using a comprehensive set of objective indicators focused primarily on research performance and academic reputation. These include global and regional research reputation, publications, books, conference papers, citations, normalized citation impact, publications among the world's top 10% and top 1% most cited papers, and international collaboration. The rankings are based on independent data drawn from internationally recognized bibliometric databases, making them an important benchmark for evaluating universities' research excellence and global scholarly impact.

Commenting on this achievement, Prof. Abdel Naser Zaid, President of An-Najah National University, stated that the University's continued progress in the U.S. News rankings is the direct result of sustained investment in scientific research, the development of an academic environment that fosters excellence, and the establishment of strategic international research partnerships. He emphasized that the University remains committed to implementing its strategic plan to strengthen academic and research leadership, enhance its competitiveness in global rankings, and further advance its national mission while expanding its regional and international impact.

Professor Walid Sweileh, Dean of Scientific Research and Rankings, noted that these results represent another important milestone in strengthening the University's global standing. He stressed the importance of continuing to support high-quality research, encouraging publication in high-impact journals, expanding international collaboration, and promoting interdisciplinary research to further increase the visibility, quality, and impact of the University's scholarly output.

Launched in 2014, the U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings are among the world's leading international university rankings, evaluating institutions through a combination of quantitative and qualitative indicators related to research excellence and academic reputation. An-Najah National University's continued inclusion and advancement in the 2026–2027 edition further reinforce its growing record of success in international rankings and reflect the continued development of its research ecosystem and expanding global academic presence.

Through this latest achievement, An-Najah National University once again reinforces its position as a leading higher education institution, strengthening its standing among internationally recognized research universities while enhancing Palestine's visibility in the global higher education and research landscape.