times higher education rankings by subject

Times Higher Education releases new 2024 subject wise university rankings - Numbers.lk

US and UK dominance in Times Higher Education rankings continues with universities from the two countries clinching the top spot in all 11 categories of the THE World University Rankings 2024 by Subject, results of which were announced this week.

27 October, 2023 | 07:44 a.m.

Staff Writer

Times Higher Education (THE) released its 2024 World University Rankings by subject on October 26, 2023, covering various academic domains. The rankings employ a range of performance indicators to measure institutions' standing globally. These indicators include the number of full-time equivalent students, student-to-staff ratio, the percentage of international students, and the female-to-male ratio at the university.

The United States and the United Kingdom continue to dominate the top of the rankings, with over half of the top 100 universities coming from either of these two countries. However, there are some notable exceptions, with China, Germany, and Australia all having a strong presence in the top 100.

The subject-wise ranking

The subject-wise rankings are categorized into different academic domains such as engineering, education, and law, among others. Each subject table employs the same rigorous performance indicators as the overall World University Rankings but is recalibrated to suit the individual fields.

• Arts and humanities
• Business and economics
• Clinical and health
• Computer science
• Engineering
• Life sciences
• Physical sciences
• Social sciences

Stanford University in the United States has secured the top rank in the fields of Arts and Humanities, and Psychology, and has shared the first position in Social Sciences with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

MIT has claimed the leading position in Business and Economics according to the rankings.

The University of Oxford in the UK has been distinguished as the best institution for two subjects – Clinical and Health, and Computer Science.

Harvard University, located in the US, has achieved the top spot in Engineering, Law, and Life Sciences disciplines.

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has been recognized as the best for Physical Sciences, while the University of California (UC) Berkeley has been ranked the highest for the subject of Education, as per the THE rankings.

Sri Lankan Universities

Sri Lanka has six universities listed in the overall Times Higher Education World University Rankings. In the 2024 THE World University Rankings, the universities of Peradeniya, Colombo, Kelaniya, and Sri Jayewardenepura have been recognized.

Sri Lankan universities have showcased a commendable performance in the Clinical and Health category, with three of them making it to the coveted under-1000 list. Both the University of Peradeniya and the University of Colombo have attained rankings within the 501-600 range, while the University of Kelaniya has secured a spot within the 801-1000 range.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings includes only 1,500 universities because it only includes universities that have been ranked in at least one subject. There are around 25,000 universities in the world, according to Erudera, the world's largest and most updated database of schools and universities.

The rankings were first published in 2004 in partnership with QS Quacquarelli Symonds, but have been published independently by THE since 2010. The rankings are based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution's performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.

The THE World University Rankings are one of the most influential university rankings in the world, and they are widely used by students, academics, and employers to assess the quality of universities.

Rankings: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings

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THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject released

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UK and Saudi Arabia make gains while US stagnates in the World University Rankings 2023 by subject

# THE UniRankings #WUR2023

• The number of US universities in the top 10 of several subject rankings has dropped , including Business and economics, and Clinical and health
• UK increases its representation in the top 10 of a number of subject rankings
• Saudi Arabia increases its representation across several subject rankings, including Computer science, Engineering and Physical sciences
• The US tops 9 of the 11 subject rankings and the UK tops 2 of the rankings
• In 4 of the subject rankings, the US and the UK are the only 2 nations represented in the top 10: Arts and humanities, Life sciences, Psychology and Social sciences
• Europe is the most represented continent in the top 300 for all subject rankings, followed by North America
• The US and the UK are the 2 most dominant countries across the top 300 for all subject rankings
• Spain is the country that has most improved its representation in the top 300 for Education and Law rankings since last year , 10 universities ranked up from 5, and 22 up from 14 respectively
• Times Higher Education has assessed university excellence across 11 separate subject areas, using the same trusted, rigorous and comprehensive combination of 13 performance indicators as the THE World University Rankings

Please note: if you reproduce these rankings or any part, please attribute to “ Times Higher Education World University Rankings by subject”, and link to the full list of the relevant subject rankings on our website (scroll down for links to each subject ranking and its relevant methodology).

Times Higher Education ( THE ) has today released the results of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject with the UK and Saudi Arabia making gains, while the US experiences a number of drops at the top of the tables. The UK’s King’s College London joins the top 10 in Clinical and health, and in Psychology. In Computer science, Saudi Arabia now has five universities in the top 300, up from two last year.

Meanwhile, in the US, Johns Hopkins University has fallen out of the top 10 in Clinical and health to 11th place, down from joint ninth last year, and in Engineering, the US has nine fewer universities in the top 300, 76 down from 85. This US trend mirrors what happened in the World University Rankings 2023, released earlier this month, where, despite still dominating the table in terms of overall representation, the US had some siginificant falls.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 by subject is compiled from data taken from the THE World University Rankings 2023. The subject tables employ the same range of 13 performance indicators used in the overall World University Rankings 2023, brought together with scores provided under five categories. However, the overall methodology is carefully recalibrated for each subject, with the weightings changed to suit the individual fields.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings provide a rigorous overview of a university’s quality, drawing on an analysis of 15.5 million research publications and 121 million citations to those publications, plus over 40,000 responses to an annual academic reputation survey and hundreds of thousands of additional data points covering a university’s teaching environment, international outlook and industry links. A record number of 1,799 universities from 104 countries and regions are included in the World Rankings this year.

Scroll down for top 10 tables for each subject ranking and links to full results tables and methodologies.

Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer, Times Higher Education , commented:  

“The THE World University Rankings by Subject provide further evidence of a clear trend we saw in the overall World Rankings earlier this month: the traditional dominance of the US in world higher education and research is waning. It has been widely pointed out that federal spending on Research and Development in the US, as a proportion of total spending, is at a seven-decade low and we have witnessed worrying de-funding of America’s great state universities around the nation. It looks like this is all starting to take its toll on the US’ global competitiveness in research and innovation.

“Meanwhile, East Asian nations, led by China, and countries in the Middle East, led by Saudi Arabia, continue to strengthen in key areas. A stand-out winner emerging from our new data release is Saudi Arabia – its improvements in key strategic subject areas, including Computer Science, Engineering and Physical Sciences is particularly noteworthy, as a national commitment to invest in research and education as part of the national strategic Vision2030 starts to really pay off.

“The THE World University Rankings by Subject are based on the same 13 rigorous and balanced performance indicators as the overall World University Rankings – giving rich data insights into a university’s teaching, research, interactions with industry and its international competitiveness – but for each of the 11 separate subject areas, the methodology has been carefully recalibrated with different weightings to reflect the different characteristics of the subject area.”

THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Arts and humanities top 10

• Hong Kong Polytechnic University enters the top 100 in 73rd place , up from group band 101-125
• The US and the UK are the only two countries represented in the top 10
• Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand joins the top 175 in group band 151-175, up from 201-250
• US representation in the top 300 has decreased with 61 universities ranked, down from 67

View the full ranking of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Arts and humanities

View the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Arts and humanities methodology

THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Business and economics top 10

• China rises to the top 10 for the first time as Tsinghua university climbs to 8th place from 11th
• China is now the third most represented country in the top 300
• Duke University in the US drops out of the top 10 to 17th place, down from 10th
• King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia climbs into the top 100 in joint 63rd place , up from group band 126-150

View the full ranking of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Business and economics

View the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Business and economics methodology

THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Clinical and health top 10

• The UK’s King’s College London re-joins the top 10 in 10th place, up from 12th
• Johns Hopkins University in the US drops out of the top 10 into 11th place, down from joint 9th
• The UK takes five of the top 10 spots , up from four last year
• Iran has five universities ranked in the top 300 , up from one last year
• Italy has nine universities ranked in the top 300 , up from six

View the full ranking of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Clinical and health

View the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Clinical and health methodology  

THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Computer science top 10

• Germany re-joins the top 10 as Technical University of Munich rises to 10th place, up from 14th
• Saudi Arabia has five universities represented in the top 300, up from two
• China has lost three universities from the top 300, 17 down from 20
• Monash University in Australia leaps forward to 57th place, up from joint 93rd
• Yonsei University (Seoul campus) in South Korea climbs into the top 100 at joint 82nd place, up from group band 176-200

View the full ranking of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Computer science

View the THE Wo rld University Rankings 2023 by subject: Computer science methodology

THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Education top 10

• Michigan State University in the US joins the top 10 in 9th place , up from 12th
• University of Antwerp in Belgium joins the top 100 in the 61st spot , up from 101-125
• Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz University leaps forward to 82nd place to join the top 100, up from group band 301-400
• Sorbonne University in France debuts in the top 100 in 92nd place , up from 201-250
• University of Tartu in Estonia rises into the top 300 in group band 251-300, up from 401-500
• UK loses 5 universities from the top 300 with 39 universities ranked, down from 44

View the full ranking of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Education

View the THE Wo rld University Rankings 2023 by subject: Education methodology

THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Engineering top 10

• Saudi Arabia has increased its representation in the top 300 with seven universities ranked, up from four
• The UK has 37 universities in the top 300 , up from 34
• The US has lost 9 universities from the top 300 with 76 universities represented, down from 85
• Sichuan University in China joins the top 100 in 66th place , up from group band 151-175
• Italy’s Politecnico di Milano leaps forward to joint 74th place , up from 96th

View the full ranking of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Engineering

View the THE Wo rld University Rankings 2023 by subject: Engineering methodology

THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Law top 10

• The University of Chicago in the US re-joins the top 10 , rising to 10th place from 13th
• Italy’s University of Bologna leaps into the top 50 in 39th place, up from group band 101-125
• Northwestern University in the US drops out of the top 100 into group band 101-125, down from 45th place
• University of Sheffield in the UK falls out of the top 100 into group band 101-125, down from joint 64th place
• University of Gothenburg in Sweden joins the top 100 in joint 90th place , up from group band 176-200

View the full ranking of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Law

View the THE Wo rld University Rankings 2023 by subject: Law methodology

THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Life sciences top 10

• US dominates the top 10, filling 8 of the spots and topping the ranking with Harvard University
• China makes progress, edging closer to the top 10 as Tsinghua University rises to 11th place from 13th, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University joins the top 100 in 67th place, up from group band 151-175
• Four UK universities lose their top 100 spots: University of Aberdeen (101-125, down from 95), University of Birmingham (101-125, down from joint 86), University of East Anglia (101-125, down from joint 92) and University of Leeds (101-125, down from joint 96)
• Germany drops four universities from the top 300 with 26 universities represented, down from 30

View the full ranking of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Life sciences

View the THE Wo rld University Rankings 2023 by subject: Life sciences methodology

THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Physical sciences top 10

• Switzerland is the only country outside of the UK and the US to make the top 10 , with ETH Zurich ranked in 9th position
• Saudi Arabia has increased its representation in the top 300 with six universities ranked , up from two last year
• King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia joins the top 50 in 47th place , up from joint 90th
• The US has four fewer universities in the top 300 – 74 universities, down from 78

View the full ranking of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Physical sciences

View the THE Wo rld University Rankings 2023 by subject: Physical sciences methodology

THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Psychology top 10

• The UK’s King’s College London enters the top 10 in 8th position, up from 12th
• The University of Chicago in the US drops out of the top 10 in 12th place , down from 7th
• National University of Singapore joins the top 50 in joint 48th place , up from 58th
• Monash University in Australia jumps forward to 54th place and joins the top 100 (up from group band 151-175)
• Spain loses 3 universities from the top 300 with 4 universities represented, down from 7

View the full ranking of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Psychology

View the THE Wo rld University Rankings 2023 by subject: Psychology methodology

THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Social sciences top 10

• Yale University in the US re-joins the top 10 in 10th position, up from 11th
• University of Oxford, UK, loses its top spot and drops to 3rd place
• Austria’s University of Vienna joins the top 50 by jumping forward to joint 40th place, up from 65th
• Universiti Utara Malaysia enters the top 250 in group band 201-250, up from 401-500
• Middle East Technical University in Turkey joins the top 300 in group band 251-300, up from 401-500

View the full ranking of the THE World University Rankings 2023 by subject: Social sciences

View the THE Wo rld University Rankings 2023 by subject: Social sciences methodology

For any queries please contact:  [email protected]

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U of T among six universities globally to rank in top 30 across all subjects: Times Higher Education

Photo by David Lee .

The University of Toronto is ranked first in Canada – and is among a handful of schools to rank in the top 30 globally – across all 11 subjects tracked by  Times Higher Education  in the 2024 edition of its international subject rankings.

U of T scored in the top 10 worldwide in three subjects in the closely watched ranking,  which was released Oct. 26 . They are education, psychology and clinical and health, which encompasses medicine, dentistry and other health fields.

The university was also among just six post-secondary institutions to rank in the top 30 globally across all 11 subjects in the  World University Rankings 2024 by Subject . The other schools include University of California, Berkeley, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Stanford University, and University of California, Los Angeles.

“The University of Toronto’s success across such a wide range of fields is a testament to the shared commitment to excellence that unites our faculty, librarians, staff and students across the three campuses,” said U of T President  Meric Gertler . “It’s immensely gratifying to see such an impressive spectrum of research, teaching and scholarship consistently recognized on a global stage.”

The University of Toronto’s success across such a wide range of fields is a testament to the shared commitment to excellence that unites our faculty, librarians, staff and students across the three campuses.

To compare universities,  Times Higher Education  considers an array of performance indicators across five pillars – teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry – and assigns different weightings depending on the subject. For its 2024 edition, the U.K.-based publication updated its methodology, expanding its research-related metrics, while adding a new indicator for patents.

U of T climbed through the global ranks in six subjects, including a nine-spot leap to place 10th in psychology and rising four positions to 9th in education. It also made gains in the arts and humanities (to 13th from 15th), social sciences (to 24th from 26th), business and economics (to 24th from 25th) and engineering (to 25th from 26th).

The university maintained high scores in the remaining five subjects: clinical and health (9th), law (21st), computer science (25th), physical sciences (25th) and life sciences (27th).

Last month, U of T was ranked the top university in Canada, 21st globally and third among North American public universities in the  Times Higher Education  World University Rankings .

Overall, U of T continues to be the highest-ranked Canadian university and one of the world’s top-ranked public universities in the five most closely watched international rankings:  U.S. News & World Report ’s Best Global Universities,  Times Higher Education ’s World University Rankings, QS World University Rankings, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy’s Academic Ranking of World Universities and National Taiwan University World University Rankings.

By Adina Bresge

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India leads the rise in new entrants in Engineering, and Computer Science in Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings 2024 by subject

Some of the best universities in the world in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (stem) are in the middle east and north africa.

Sonal Srivastava | Posted October 26, 2023 10:35 AM

There is a greater diversity of universities and countries excelling across THE’s World University Rankings 2024 by subject, but they are still dominated by US and UK institutions. India has the maximum number of new entrants in Engineering with 20 and 14 in Computer Science. However, only one of those universities is in the 101-125 band and the rest are in bands 301-400 or lower. 

The top positions of the 11 subject rankings show increasing diversity, which is most evident when compared with the World University Rankings 2020 by subject, especially in Social Sciences, Education, Business and Economics. Five years ago, only the US and UK universities featured in the top 10 in Business and Economics ranking. In contrast, this year, two of the places are taken up by Chinese institutions: Tsinghua University and Peking University. 

In the ranking for the field of education, five years ago, nine of the top 10 places were taken by US and UK institutions, with Hong Kong taking the other place. This year education’s top 10 has universities from five countries: China, Canada, Hong Kong, US and UK. In addition, five years ago 62% of the top 50 universities were from the US and UK and this year it is 52%.  

Universities from 15 countries are represented this year compared with 12 in the 2020 edition. Universities from the US and UK take the number one positions across all 11 of the subject rankings, with the UK’s University of Oxford claiming top spot in both Clinical and Health and Computer Science and US universities coming first in the other nine subjects: Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, Education, Engineering, Law, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Psychology and Social Sciences. Arts and Humanities, Life Sciences and Social Sciences only have UK and US universities in the top 10 this year.

Harvard University and Stanford University top the most subjects – three. Harvard University tops Engineering, Law and Life Sciences, while Stanford tops Arts and Humanities, Psychology and is joint top in social sciences. Massachusetts Institute of Technology comes top in Business and Economics and joint top in social sciences. 

Germany and Netherlands are the two best performing countries in continental Europe per number of universities ranked in the top 50 of each subject. Compared to World University Rankings 2020 the US-UK block is less present in the top 50 in Social Sciences, Education, Business and Economics. 

Some of the best universities in the world in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are in the Middle East and North Africa while other blocks are more focused on non-STEM subjects including Southern and Eastern Europe. Sub-Saharan African countries do best in clinical and health. North African and Arabic countries focus on Computer Science, Engineering and Physical Sciences 

North Europe’s focus is on Science, while South and East Europe are more focused on the Humanities. South America is more focused on non-scientific subjects. The UK’s overall score has improved in all subjects this year. In the 20th year of the World University Rankings, 1,904 universities are ranked overall – up from 1,799 last year - from 108 countries and regions. Producing the global ranking is a significant data exercise, with input from an academic survey including more than 65,000 responses and bibliometrics on the tally of research papers and citations, as well as data provided by institutions. For this year’s analysis, 16.5 million research papers were examined which is 1 million more than last year. Additionally, 134 million citations have been examined, compared with last year’s 121 million. 

Phil Baty, Chief Global Affairs Officer, commented: “THE World University Rankings by subject provide further evidence of a clear trend, which we also saw in the World Rankings, of the waning dominance of US-UK universities in higher education. East Asian nations continue to strengthen in key areas with Chinese universities, in particular, standing out, as well as those in Hong Kong and Singapore.” 

The complete Times Higher Education World University Rankings by subject are available at //www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/by-subject  

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