ShanghaiRanking have released the results of their 2018 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, which shows the best performing universities across 54 different subjects.
In total, more than 4,000 universities were ranked in five different fields: the natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences, and social sciences. This is the second year ShanghaiRanking have published the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, but the consultancy has been ranking international universities since 2003, and has ranked universities by academic fields since 2007.
This year’s survey is the most expansive to date, considering more subjects than ever before.
Universities from the United States have once again topped the tables, taking 35 of the top positions across the 54 subjects, three more than the country held last year. The next best performing universities are from China (including Hong Kong), where nine institutions have taken first place, followed by the Netherlands, where three universities have been ranked in top positions.
The UK continues to hold two top positions with geography at the University of Cambridge.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who has once again topped five different subjects, four of which are related to engineering.
Other universities which have been ranked as first in more than one subject this year include the University of Colorado Boulder, Wageningen University and Research, and Nanyang Technological University.
Universities from 83 different countries and regions were published in the latest release. When including universities which didn’t make the top spot for their subjects, universities from the United States appear in the rankings a total of 4,661 times. Chinese universities appear 2,171 times, and universities from the United Kingdom appear 1,487 times.
ShanghaiRanking determined their results by measuring the quantity, quality, and impact of research at each institution, as well as the extent of international collaboration and the number of staff recognised with awards. The full methodology is available here, and the full table of results is listed below.
Times Higher Education subject rankings
Best universities for medicine
Best universities for life sciences
Best universities for psychology degrees
Best universities for engineering degrees
Best universities for computer science degrees
Best universities for social science degrees
Best universities for law degrees
Best universities for business degrees
Best universities for education degrees
ShanghaiRanking’s top universities across 54 subjects 2018
| Fields | Subject | Institution | Country/Region |
| Natural Sciences | Mathematics | Princeton University | USA |
| Physics | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | USA | |
| Chemistry | University of California, Berkeley | USA | |
| Earth sciences | University of Colorado Boulder | USA | |
| Geography | University of Oxford | UK | |
| Ecology | Montpellier University | France | |
| Oceanography | University of Washington | USA | |
| Atmospheric science | University of Colorado Boulder | USA | |
| Engineering | Mechanical engineering | University of Cambridge | UK |
| Electrical and electronic engineering | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | USA | |
| Automation and control | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | USA | |
| Telecommunication engineering | Tsinghua University | China | |
| Instruments science and technology | Harbin Institute of Technology | China | |
| Biomedical engineering | Harvard University | USA | |
| Computer science and engineering | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | USA | |
| Civil engineering | Tongji University | China | |
| Chemical engineering | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | USA | |
| Materials science and engineering | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | USA | |
| Nanoscience and nanotechnology | Nanyang Technological University | Singapore | |
| Energy science and engineering | Nanyang Technological University | Singapore | |
| Environmental science and engineering | Stanford University | USA | |
| Water resources | University of Arizona | USA | |
| Food science and technology | Wageningen University & Research | Netherlands | |
| Biotechnology | Harvard University | USA | |
| Aerospace engineering | Beihang University | China | |
| Marine/ocean engineering | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | China | |
| Transportation science and technology | Beijing Jiaotong University | China | |
| Remote sensing | Wuhan University | China | |
| Mining and mineral engineering | University of Queensland | Australia | |
| Metallurgical engineering | University of Science and Technology Beijing | China | |
| Life Sciences | Biological sciences | Harvard University | USA |
| Human biological sciences | Harvard University | USA | |
| Agricultural sciences | Wageningen University & Research | Netherlands | |
| Veterinary sciences | Ghent University | Belgium | |
| Medical Sciences | Clinical medicine | Harvard University | USA |
| Public health | Harvard University | USA | |
| Dentistry and oral sciences | University of Michigan | USA | |
| Nursing | University of Pennsylvania | USA | |
| Medical technology | Harvard University | USA | |
| Pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences | Harvard University | USA | |
| Social Sciences | Economics | Harvard University | USA |
| Statistics | Harvard University | USA | |
| Law | Harvard University | USA | |
| Political sciences | Harvard University | USA | |
| Sociology | Harvard University | USA | |
| Education | Harvard University | USA | |
| Communication | Ohio State University | USA | |
| Psychology | Harvard University | USA | |
| Business administration | University of Pennsylvania | USA | |
| Finance | York University | USA | |
| Management | Harvard University | USA | |
| Public administration | Erasmus University Rotterdam | Netherlands | |
| Hospitality and tourism management | Hong Kong Polytechnic University | Hong Kong | |
| Library and information science | Harvard University | USA |
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