The QS World University Rankings by Subject provides students with information on institutions that are excelling in the subject areas that matter to them. We provide individual ranking tables for both broad faculty areas and specific subjects.
The ranking consists of 50+ subjects across five faculty areas:
- Arts and Humanities
- Engineering and Technology
- Life Sciences and Medicine
- Natural Sciences
- Social Sciences and Management
The rankings are compiled by our data analysts in partnership with tens of thousands of higher education institutions. They incorporate datapoints from 16.4 million academic papers as well as the views of more than 151,000 academics and 100,000 employers.
Each of the QS rankings are compiled using a core methodology that employs a range of vital factors including student experience, university partnerships, research activity and faculty qualifications.
All of our data is based on high-quality research and innovative analytic approaches. The QS rankings provide methodical evaluations of key areas in higher education institutions, ultimately offering potential students expert advice that’s proven to align them with their chosen path.
The Subject Rankings are also aligned from a research perspective with the All Science Journal Classification Codes (ASJC).
Key Dates
The QS World University Rankings by Subject are published in March.
Data Collection
| Date Starts | Date Ends | |
| Survey Contacts Submission | September 2023 | January 2024 |
| Academic Survey | November 2023 | March/April 2024 |
| Employer Survey | November 2023 | March/April 2024 |
| Institution Data | February 2024 | 15 April 2024 |
Methodology
In each of our rankings we use a range of measurements as part of our methodology. These can be split into three broad groups.
Each ranking is made up of a different group of measurements, with some being used across several rankings and others unique to one project.
Lens
A group of Indicators which are related to the same theme
Indicator
A measurement of one aspect of an institution’s performance. Institutions are scored and ranked within indicators and those indicator scores contribute to its overall rank and score
Metric
A more specific calculation that forms part of an Indicator
Indicators
Below you can find the weightings for each indicator in each broad faculty area ranking. Weightings are reviewed on an annual basis. Click on each indicator below for more detailed information.
The indicator weights of the faculty-area rankings can be found below:
Eligibility and Inclusion
Not all higher education institutions are eligible for our rankings, and not all eligible institutions are ranked. Below you can find the criteria for institutions.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the World University Rankings by Subject an institution must:
Subject Rankings
- Offer full-degree programmes at either undergraduate and postgraduate level in the given subject
- Have at least THREE graduated classes in the given subject
- Meet the paper threshold for the relevant subject
- Meet the minimum threshold for reputation (the sum of Academic Reputation and Employer Reputation scores is 5 or higher)
Faculty Rankings
- Offer full-degree programmes at either undergraduate and postgraduate level in the given faculty area
- Offer full degree programmes in at least TWO subjects in the relevant faculty area
- Have at least THREE graduated classes in each subject
Subjects and Faculty Areas
Below is a list of the faculty areas and relevant subjects covered by the Rankings. Each faculty and subject area has its own ranking.
Arts and Humanities
Engineering and Technology
Life Sciences and Medicine
Natural Sciences
Social Sciences and Management
AJSC Codes
ASJC codes are used in Scopus to classify and categorize published research by its subject area. This is done using the aims and scope of the title (e.g. journal), and the content that it publishes.
For a list of subjects and corresponding codes please see ASJC Info.
Data Submission
All institutions can submit data for the rankings. This data is important in ensuring our rankings are as accurate as possible.
Where we don’t have data submitted by an institution, we feature them on the strength of proprietary and publicly available or previously supplied data. Our rankings are designed with this in mind.
Submission Platform
You should submit data for your institution through our QS HUB platform. Please contact our Institution Support Team via our helpdesk if you do not have login details, or need further support.
Our rankings are not opt-in/opt-out, so it is in an institution's best interest to ensure that we reflect them accurately by submitting their data.
If you would like your institution to be considered for inclusion in the Rankings and your institution has not received a submission email, please contact: rankings@qs.com.
Data Reporting Period
For the majority of the data we request, the reporting period should cover the academic year previous to our rankings cycle.
This will be approximately January to December for the Southern Hemisphere, and August to July for the Northern Hemisphere.
There are exceptions to this, so please refer to our data dictionary if you are unsure.
