There are 16 universities in Chelyabinsk , the most famous among them are South Ural State University (the total number of students is 25 thousand people, has the status of a national research) and Chelyabinsk State University (14 thousand people). They are included in the lists of prestigious foreign , Russian ratings. So, Forbes included two universities of the Chelyabinsk region in the top 100 universities in Russia:
- South Ural State University took 26th place
- Chelyabinsk State University - 40th.
There are also specialized universities in the city: agrarian, pedagogical, medical, physical education, institutes of culture, arts, 2 private universities (YUTU, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), 5 branches of nonresident universities:
- Ural branch of the Financial University
- Chelyabinsk branch of RANEPA
- Ural branch of RSUE
- Chelyabinsk Institute of Railways (USUPS branch)
- Ural Socio-Economic Institute (branch of ATiSO).
Top universities in Chelyabinsk 2024 rankings
| 1 | South Ural State University (National Research University) |
| 2 | Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture |
| 3 | South Ural State Humanitarian Pedagogical University |
| 4 | Chelyabinsk Institute of Railways (USURs branch in Chelyabinsk - Ural State University of Railways) |
| 5 | Chelyabinsk State University |
| 6 | South Ural State Medical University |
| 7 | Ural State University of Physical Education |
| 8 | International Institute of Design and Service |
| 9 | Chelyabinsk Institute of Economics and Law named after M.V. Ladoshina |
| 10 | South Ural Institute of Management and Economics |
| 11 | Ural Branch of the Russian State University of Justice |
| 12 | South Ural State Institute of Arts named after P.I. Tchaikovsky |
| 13 | Chelyabinsk Branch of Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation |
| 14 | Ural Institute of Business |
| 15 | Ural Socio-Economic Institute - a branch of the Academy of Labor and Social Relations |
| 16 | Branch of International Institute of Economics and Law in Chelyabinsk |
| 17 | Chelyabinsk Institute - a branch of Moscow Innovation University |
| 18 | Branch of Baltic Institute of Ecology, Politics and Law in Chelyabinsk |
| 19 | South-Ural State Agro University |
| 20 | Chelyabinsk Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation |
| 21 | Institute of Law, Economics and Management (branch in Chelyabinsk - Ural State Economic University) |
| 22 | Chelyabinsk branch of the Financial University - Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation |
