QS Stars university rating system




A flexible, globally recognised assessment that highlights your strengths, supports strategic improvement, and helps you stand out to students, partners, and stakeholders.
Designed for business schools, this assessment demonstrates excellence in areas such as entrepreneurship, employability, and programme quality.
Build confidence in your online provision.
Evidence the quality of your digital learning experience across teaching, student support, technology, and outcomes to attract and reassure learners worldwide.
Choose from Programme Strength or Employability assessments to showcase excellence in key disciplines or demonstrate how effectively you prepare students for career success.
Employability is currently available only in selected regions. Please contact our team for availability.
QS Stars is a university rating system that independently assesses institutional performance against established standards. It helps institutions understand their strengths, identify opportunities for improvement and demonstrate independently assessed performance.
University rankings compare institutions with one another and indicate relative performance. A university rating assesses an institution against defined standards. QS Stars therefore complements rankings by providing deeper insight into particular areas of institutional strength.
Yes. QS Stars is available to ranked and unranked institutions. For institutions not yet represented in global rankings, QS Stars provides an opportunity to gain independent assessment and recognition within approximately six months, while developing a longer-term rankings strategy.
Building a ranking position can take time as institutions establish eligibility, submit data and develop performance across ranking indicators. QS Stars can therefore provide a complementary route to recognition during that journey. After an institution is ranked, QS Stars then provides further quality assurance to prospective students and partners.
QS Stars assesses performance across areas including learning experience, employability and outcomes, sustainability, research and innovation, and global engagement, with flexibility depending on the assessment.
Most institutions complete the assessment and classification process within approximately four to six months, supported by a dedicated QS specialist.
In most cases, yes. Your institution is eligible for a QS Stars assessment if it awards undergraduate and/or postgraduate degree programmes and has produced at least one graduating cohort.
QS Stars is open to a wide range of higher education providers, including:
If you're unsure whether your institution qualifies, our team will be happy to review your eligibility and recommend the most suitable assessment.
QS Stars offers different assessment options depending on institutional type and priorities, including comprehensive institutional ratings, a tailored Business Schools framework and specialist assessment options.
Download the brochure or speak to a QS Stars expert to explore the most appropriate option.