The results of ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2017 have been released, revealing the best universities in 52 different subjects, according to the consultancy. These subjects are spread across five fields – natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences and social sciences. In total, more than 4,000 universities across the world were ranked.
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US universities take first place 32 times across the 52 subjects, while eight of the top spots are claimed by institutions from China, and five by universities in the Netherlands. The UK takes three of the top positions in geography (University of Cambridge).
Massachusetts Institute of Technology came top in five subjects, four of those within the field of engineering.
Other universities to rank first more than once were Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research and Nanyang Technological University.
The ranking was determined by a series of indicators such as the number of papers authored by an institution in an academic subject, international collaboration on papers, and the number of staff winning awards in an academic subject. The full methodology can be found here.
ShanghaiRanking’s top universities in 52 subjects
| Fields | Subject | Institution | Country |
Natural sciences | Mathematics | Princeton University | US |
| Physics | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | US | |
| Chemistry | University of California, Berkeley | US | |
| Earth sciences | ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich | Switzerland | |
| Geography | University of Oxford | UK | |
| Ecology | University of Oxford | UK | |
Engineering | Mechanical engineering | University of Cambridge | UK |
| Electrical and electronic engineering | University of California, Berkeley | US | |
| Automation and control | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | US | |
| Telecommunication engineering | Tsinghua University | China | |
| Instruments science and technology | Harbin Institute of Technology | China | |
| Biomedical engineering | Harvard University | US | |
| Computer science and engineering | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | US | |
| Civil engineering | Tongji University | China | |
| Chemical engineering | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | US | |
| Materials science and engineering | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | US | |
| Nanoscience and nanotechnology | Nanyang Technological University | Singapore | |
| Energy science and engineering | Nanyang Technological University | Singapore | |
| Environmental science and engineering | Stanford University | US | |
| Water resources | Delft University of Technology | Netherlands | |
| Food Science and technology | Waginengen University & Research | Netherlands | |
| Biotechnology | Harvard University | US | |
| Aerospace engineering | Georgia Institute of Technology | US | |
| Marine/ocean engineering | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | China | |
| Transportation science and technology | Delft University of Technology | Netherlands | |
| Remote sensing | Wuhan University | China | |
| Mining and mineral engineering | University of Science and Technology Beijing | China | |
| Metallurgical engineering | Central South University | China | |
Life sciences | Biological sciences | Harvard University | US |
| Human biological sciences | Harvard University | US | |
| Agricultural sciences | Wageningen University & Research | Netherlands | |
| Veterinary sciences | Ghent University | Belgium | |
Medical sciences | Clinical medicine | Harvard University | US |
| Public health | Harvard University | US | |
| Dentistry and oral sciences | University of Michigan | US | |
| Nursing | University of Pennsylvania | US | |
| Medical technology | Harvard University | US | |
| Pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences | Harvard University | US | |
Social sciences | Economics | University of Chicago | US |
| Statistics | Harvard University | US | |
| Law | Harvard University | US | |
| Political sciences | Harvard University | US | |
| Sociology | Harvard University | US | |
| Education | Stanford University | US | |
| Communication | Ohio State University | US | |
| Psychology | Harvard University | US | |
| Business administration | University of Pennsylvania | US | |
| Finance | York University | US | |
| Management | Harvard University | US | |
| Public administration | Erasmus University Rotterdam | Netherlands | |
| Hospitality and tourism management | Hong Kong Polytechnic University | China-Hong Kong | |
| Library and information science | Harvard University | US |
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