Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2025: US universities lead in 27 subjects, followed by China

Universities from the United States have reinforced their positions as the leading academic institutions in 27 subjects out of 57 in the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2025, published by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy on 18/11/2025. The US is followed by China, with 21 subjects ranked No. 1 worldwide.

Harvard University stands out as the best-performing institution, achieving 11 top positions: five in Social Sciences, three in Medical Sciences, two in Life Sciences and one in Engineering.

Tsinghua University from China leads in seven subjects, while MIT tops four subjects. Stanford University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University each claim three No. 1 positions, and both Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Chicago rank first in two subjects.

This year's league table features rankings of universities in 57 subjects across the following disciplines: Natural Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences, including two newly added subjects - Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Science & Engineering.

In total, around 2,000…