Global higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds released the fourteenth edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject: an independent comparative analysis of academic excellence featuring 1500+universities in 96 countries and territories across 55 disciplines.

The QS rankings were consulted over 60 million times in 2023 on TopUniversities.com and referenced 124,000 times by worldwide media and institutions.

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Countries with most top-10 entries in the rankings

 

Ranked Universities 

 Ranked Entries   

Nº Top 10 entries

United States 

213

3039

244

United Kingdom 

103

1569

148

Switzerland 

27

220

31

Singapore 

5

103

29

Australia 

36

797

17

Canada 

32

646

17

Netherlands 

21

328

13

China (Mainland) 

101

882

8

Italy 

56

577

8

Germany 

60

774

5

France 

73

516

5

Japan 

44

436

5

Global Highlights:

  • USuniversities lead in 32 subjects. Harvard University (pic) is the world's strongest-performing institution, first in 19 disciplines. MIT follows, leading in 11 subjects. 
  • UKinstitutions lead 16 subjects. The University of Oxford tops four, followed by the University of Cambridge, UCL, Royal College of Art and Royal College of Music with two.
  • Switzerlandboasts the highest concentration of #1 entries (4) proportionally to its ranked universities. ETH Zurich leads in three subjects, making it Continental Europe's strongest institution.
  • Australia's Universities of Melbourne and Sydney boast the world's most top-100 subjects, 53 and 52.
  • Franceis the most internationally collaborative research hub, with 23 entries among the top-10 for International Research Network.
  • Japanreverses more than five years of decline. 26% of its previously-ranked entries climb, 21% drop and 42% remain stable – an overall improvement of 5%.
  • Chinais the third most represented country. It ranks in the top-10 for eight subjects. Tsinghua University achieves its three highest ranks, including top-performer, History of Art(5th). 
  • India's ranked entries and overall performance soared by 19% and 17%, respectively.
  • Brazilis Latin America's most-represented country overall and among the top 100. Mexicoboasts the region's most top-20 entries (4).
  • Saudi Arabia's KFUPM offers the Arab Region's highest-ranked programmes, Petroleum Engineering (5th) and Mineral & Mining Engineering(8th).
  • Africa's leader, Cape Town University, ranks 15thglobally in Development Studies.

QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter said:  “With rising global inflation, geo-political instability and general elections in 50+ countries, supporting higher education and international student mobility has never been more critical as it drives innovation and societal advancement. QS' largest ever-university comparative analysis highlights the importance of diversity, research partnerships, investment, and cross-border academic and industry collaborations."