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Best cities to study in

University quality, student mix, affordability and graduate hiring, scored per city.

QS Best Student Cities2027 edition, published July 2026

Pairs directly with the scholarship matcher on this site. Pick the city first, then look for what funds you there.

  1. 1st place

    Seoul

    South Korea

    1st

    QS student city placing

    Best student city in the world for the second year running

  2. 2nd place

    Tokyo

    Japan

    2nd

    QS student city placing

    Strongest employer activity score of any student city

  3. 3rd place

    London

    United Kingdom

    3rd

    QS student city placing

    Four universities in the global top forty

The rest of the top 10

Ranked list, positions 4 to 10
RankCityQS student city placing
4th place
MelbourneAustralia
4th
5th place
SydneyAustralia
Joint 5th
5th place
MunichGermanyNo tuition fees, which is why it scores so high on affordability
Joint 5th
7th place
ParisFrance
7th
8th place
BerlinGermanyCheapest of the top ten to actually live in
8th
9th place
ViennaAustriaSecond in the world for student desirability
9th
10th place
ZurichSwitzerland
10th

Source

QS Best Student Cities

2027 edition, published July 2026

See the full published list

This is information, not legal or immigration advice. Rules and figures change without notice. Confirm anything you plan to act on with the official authority for that country, and check your own position with the eligibility checker.

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All rankings

Best countries for international students

Where a degree, the cost of getting it, and the right to stay afterwards line up.

  1. 1United States1.1 million
  2. 2United Kingdom760,000
  3. 3Canada620,000
  4. 4Australia520,000
  5. 5Germany460,000
  6. 6France430,000
  7. 7Japan340,000
  8. 8Netherlands130,000
  9. 9New Zealand70,000
  10. 10Ireland35,000
Top 10 countriesLatest published intake data

Best education systems

Quality of public education and access to higher education, judged as a system.

  1. 1Denmark100.0
  2. 2Sweden99.9
  3. 3United Kingdom96.8
  4. 4Finland96.6
  5. 5Germany95.9
  6. 6Canada95.7
  7. 7Norway93.6
  8. 8Japan91.0
  9. 9Switzerland90.1
  10. 10Australia84.1
Top 10 countries2026 edition

Lowest tuition for international students

What a public university actually charges a non-EU student, per year.

  1. 1GermanyEUR 0 to 350 per semester
  2. 2NorwayEUR 0 at some institutions
  3. 3ArgentinaUSD 0 to 1,000
  4. 4Czech RepublicEUR 0 to 5,000
  5. 5TaiwanUSD 1,500 to 3,500
  6. 6AustriaEUR 1,500
  7. 7PolandEUR 2,000 to 4,000
  8. 8MalaysiaUSD 2,500 to 5,000
  9. 9FranceEUR 2,850 to 3,900
  10. 10HungaryEUR 3,000 to 5,000
Top 10 countriesVerified August 2026