Top universities in 55 subjects revealed

LONDON, March 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Global higher education experts QS Quacquarelli Symonds released the sixteenth edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject, comparing 21,000+ academic offerings from 1900+ institutions across 100 higher education systems in 55 subjects and five faculty areas.

QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter said: "The rankings highlight a global higher education landscape that is becoming both more competitive and more specialised. While traditional leaders in the US, UK and parts of Europe continue to dominate many disciplines, we are seeing significant momentum from systems across Asia, the Middle East and Latin America."

Highlights

• Australia dominates Sports-related Subjects. University of Queensland ranks second and University of Sydney comes third.
• Singapore shines. Forty-two entries place in the top-10, third-highest worldwide. It is the world's most improved system.
• China doubles top-10 entries since 2021 and leads in Classics and Ancient History, with Fudan 2nd and Peking University 3rd.
• India doubles its top-50 places since 2024 to 27 across 12 institutions, led by Indian School of Mines University Dhanbad and IIM Ahmedabad.
• Switzerland leads Europe with 12 top-five subject entries. ETH Zurich holds three number-one positions.
• Italy strengthens its top-10 presence through Sapienza University of Rome and Bocconi University. Sapienza University comes first in Classics & Ancient History.
• Spain achieves record ranks in 10 subjects and claims its most ever top 20 positions. Complutense University of Madrid takes the highest rank (11^th, Dentistry). 
• Portugal is Europe's most improved system (+12%), led by University of Porto.
• Canada's University of British Columbia has the most entries globally. McGill reclaims the highest rank (2^nd, Mineral & Mining Engineering).
• Universität Heidelberg takes Germany's highest rank (8^th, Classics & Ancient History). Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin is the world's most improved in Medicine.
• France leads Social Sciences, with standout performances from Sciences Po (3^rd, Politics & International Studies) and INSEAD (4^th, Business & Management Studies).
• The UK sees 40% of entries rise, joint third globally. It records 15 first-places and 63 top-three. 
• KFUPM in Saudi Arabia remains the Arab Region's highest-ranked university (5^th, Petroleum Engineering).
• The US leads globally with 37 top-ranked subjects and 88 top-three placements. Harvard, MIT and Juilliard are standouts.
• South Africa records Africa's highest subject rankings, led by the University of Cape Town and the University of Witwatersrand.
• Universidade de São Paulo holds Latin America's highest ranks, while Ecuador records the region's strongest improvement rate.

Appendix–assets including full #1 subjects list.

Methodology