The latest QS rankings are out that focus on the top performing institutions across the globe in a wide range of academic areas and disciplines.  This time round the 2017 ranking covers 46 subjects and extends its reach by featuring a range of new subjects that include: anatomy & physiology, hospitality & leisure management, sports-related subjects and theology, divinity & religious studies. To further support prospective students in their choice of international studies, this year five broad subject areas make their debut in - arts & humanities, engineering & technology, life sciences & medicine, natural sciences and social sciences & management.

The ranking that measures indicators as employer and academic reputation as well as research citation, uncovers how nations as China and Russia continue to shift competition, steadily increasing their representation in the top ranks Vis-a-Vis the well know world’s top performers. The U.S. and UK continue to hold the top spots but in contrast show more declining trends.    

The annual QS Subject ranking 2017 reveals:

• Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Oxford lead the charts with 12-15 number one spots across the subjects measured.  The University of Sussex, takes Harvard’s first place in the rankings for development studies.
• The largest representation in the Top-10 rank are held by University of Cambridge, California Berkeley, Oxford and Stanford University.
• At the European level France incurs losses, slipping from 83 placements in the top-100 in 2016 to 66 in 2017. Germany and the Netherlands remain strong education providers but face a similar downward trend in the representation they hold in the top 100 mark.
• China rises in the ranks overall and increases its share of top-50 spots to 79 placements (up by 15 compared to 2016). For Asia, India remains rather low profile player in the rankings with only a few more institutions represented this year – a bright light being the University of Delhi securing 16^th place in development studies.
• For Latin America, the University of Sao Paulo banks most of Brazil’s top 50 placements, Chile holds 12 spots in the top-50 with Universidad Catolica securing nine of these.   

With six newcomers the rankings are stable this year, above giving the opportunity for some often not recognised universities to make their appearance on the stage of subject and disciplinary excellence, compared to the classical and broad league tables.  

QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017