Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2026: Chinese institutions edge closer to US universities
Universities from the United States have maintained their positions as leading academic institutions in 27 subjects out of 57 in the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2026, the same as in 2025. They are followed by mainland China, which tops 22 subjects, one more than in 2025. China-Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Singapore and the UK
United Kingdom
each top two subjects.
Published by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy on 15/09/2026, the ranking assesses universities by academic discipline. It covers 57 subjects across Natural Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences. In total, around 2,000 universities are featured in the 2026 edition of GRAS, representing 96 countries and regions.
ShanghaiRanking Consultancy is an independent organisation dedicated to research on higher education intelligence and consultation. It has been the official publisher of the Academic Ranking of World Universities since 2009.
For this ranking, News Tank presents the list of universities topping each subject, as well as a graph of the number of institutions ranked per country.
Universities ranked first in an academic subject: US institutions dominate in X subjects
Harvard University stands out as the best-performing institution, achieving 11 top-one positions: six in Social Sciences, two in Life Sciences, two in Medical Sciences and one in Engineering.
China's Tsinghua University leads in seven subjects, while MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology tops five. Meanwhile, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Indiana University Bloomington and University of Chicago each secure two No. 1 positions.
Institutions ranking first in the 57 subjects
Number of institutions ranked by country: China catching up to the US, UK maintains third place
By total number of appearances across all subjects in the league table, universities from the United States appear 4,119 times (down from 4,281 in 2025), followed by Chinese universities with 4,077 (up from 3,747) appearances, catching up with the US.
Third place is occupied by the UK, with 1,536 appearances (down from 1,567). Germany follows with 926 (down from 933).
Number of institutions ranked by country
Methodology
GRAS uses a range of objective academic indicators, covering five evaluation categories:
- World-Class Faculty: This category includes four indicators: International Academic Award Laureates, Highly Cited Researchers, Chief Editors of International Academic Journals and International Academic Organisation Leadership;
- World-Class Output: This category includes two indicators: Top Journal Papers and International Academic Awards;
- High-Quality Research: This category uses Q1 Journal Papers;
- Research Impact: This category uses Category Normalised Citation Impact;
- International Collaboration: This category uses International Collaborated Papers.
In GRAS 2026, the lists of top journals, international academic awards and key academic organisations were determined through the Academic Excellence Survey conducted by ShanghaiRanking. Until June 2026, 1,560 professors from the top 100 universities in 21 countries/regions had participated in the survey. The results reveal 46 top awards, 33 key international organisations, 175 top journals, and 26 top conferences.
The rankings of academic subjects range from 50 to 500 institutions, depending on the discipline.
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