The QS World University Rankings 2023 by Subject assess more than 1,500 institutions across 54 distinct subjects organised into five faculty areas. This year’s rankings encompass 15,700 academic programmes across 93 countries and territories.

This QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023, now in its 13th edition, examines institutions’ academic performance in specific fields, offering students and institutions valuable information about the strengths of a programme and areas that may require attention to enhance the study experience.

According to the 2023 rankings, Harvard University has emerged as the top-ranked university in four broad categories: Arts & Humanities, Social Studies, Life Sciences & Medicine, and Natural Sciences. 

The university has also claimed the top spot in 14 disciplines, including History, Biological Sciences, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Psychology, Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Accounting and Finance, Business and Management Studies, Economics and Econometrics, Law and Legal Studies, Politics, Sociology, Social Policy, and Medicine.

The QS World University Rankings: by Subject 2024 boast several notable features:

  • Institutions in the Arab Region, including those in Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Qatar, and Jordan, host six of the 10 most improved programs.
  • Three new subjects, namely Data Science, Art History, and Marketing, have undergone evaluation.
  • American institutions lead in 32 subjects, with Harvard University ranking first in 14, two more than its previous year’s ranking.
  • The University of Oxford dominates the top 15 subject tables, including Anatomy and Physiology, Anthropology, and English Language and Literature. In contrast, the University of Cambridge dominates Archaeology and Modern Languages.
  • The H-index, a metric that measures the scientific productivity and impact of published work from an institution, ranks Australia fourth among the most impactful research locations worldwide.

According to Ben Sowter, QS Senior Vice President, the latest subject ranking is the largest one yet and offers a more comprehensive insight into how institutions achieve success in the rankings. 

Sowter highlights the significance of sustained, targeted investment and international collaboration in achieving progress while better relationships with industry leaders to better employment, research, and innovation outcomes.

Below are the top 10 institutions worldwide with the best academic programs-

Arts and Humanities

  1. Harvard University
  2. University of Cambridge
  3. University of Oxford
  4. Stanford University
  5. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
  6. Yale University
  7. Columbia University
  8. New York University (NYU)
  9. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
  10. The University of Edinburgh

Engineering and Technology

  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  2. Stanford University
  3. University of Cambridge
  4. University of Oxford
  5. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
  6. Imperial College London
  7. ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
  8. Harvard University
  9. Tsinghua University
  10. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Life Sciences and Medicine

  • 1.Harvard University
  • 2.University of Oxford
  • 3.Johns Hopkins University
  • 4=Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  • 4=Stanford University
  • 5.University of Cambridge
  • 6.Imperial College London
  • 7.University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
  • 8.UCL
  • 10=Karolinska Institute
  • 10=University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Natural Sciences

  1. Harvard University
  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  3. University of Cambridge
  4. Stanford University
  5. University of Oxford
  6. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
  7. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
  8. ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
  9. Imperial College London
  10. Princeton University

Social Sciences and Management

  1. Harvard University
  2. University of Oxford
  3. Stanford University
  4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  5. The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
  6. University of Cambridge
  7. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
  8. Yale University
  9. University of Chicago
  10. Columbia University

QS has ranked the programs by evaluating them based on five indicators, which are as follows:

  • Academic Reputation
  • Research Citations per Paper
  • Employer Reputation
  • H-Index (a method of measuring the productivity and impact of a university department)
  • International Research Network

AHZ Associates wishes all international students succeed in achieving their academic goals and embarking on their dream academic journey with top-ranked courses abroad!