This year’s QS World University Rankings by Subject features four new subjects for the very first time, bringing the total number of subjects covered to an eye-watering 46. One of these new arrivals on the scene is anatomy & physiology, with 100 universities from around the world assessed and ranked. These institutions can all now proudly brag about their anatomy & physiology ranking for the first time ever, while students from every continent who are interested in this course are now able to find a top university near them.
Check out the table below for the global top 10 universities in this year’s subject ranking, or keep reading to find out more about some of the best universities in each part of the world.
Top 10 universities for anatomy & physiology in the world | ||
| 1 | University of Oxford | United Kingdom |
| 2 | University of Cambridge | UK |
| 3 | McGill University | Canada |
| 4= | Stanford University | United States |
| 4= | UCL (University College London) | UK |
| 6 | Columbia University | US |
| 7 | Johns Hopkins University | US |
| 8 | University of Toronto | Canada |
| 9 | University of Tokyo | Japan |
| 10 | University of Sydney | Australia |
Best universities for anatomy & physiology in the United States and Canada
As well as being responsible for half of the top 10, the United States and Canada are also home to 37 of the 100 top universities for anatomy & physiology. 11 of those institutions are Canadian, with the University of British Columbia joining McGill and Toronto in the top 20.
Outside the top 10, the highest-ranked American universities are the University of Michigan (12th), University of Pennsylvania (17th), Duke University (21st) and University of California, Davis (UCD) (28th).
Best universities for anatomy & physiology in Europe
Europe beats North America for representation in this year’s rankings with 38 universities on the list, one more than the United States and Canada combined. The United Kingdom are the dominant force in Europe, with three universities in the top five and 13 featured in total. Notable performers include King’s College London, ranked 13th, and the University of Bristol, ranked 15th.
Germany is the next best-performing European country with five universities on the list. However, only one of these makes the top 50: the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Germany’s neighbors Switzerland are just behind them with four universities in this ranking: 20th-placed University of Zurich and joint 39th-placed University of Lausanne.
Italy, Netherlands and Sweden are all represented by three universities each. Only Italy is represented in the top 50, with two universities earning that distinction: the Università di Bologna (UNIBO) (38th) and the Università degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD) (42nd). The three Dutch universities ranked 51-100 are the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Maastricht University and University of Groningen, while the three Swedish universities are Lund University, the University of Gothenburg and Uppsala University.
A pair of fine universities represent Belgium in this year’s rankings, the best-performing of which is the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in joint 46th. France also has two representatives on the list, both of which are ranked 51-100: the Université Paris Descartes and the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC).
Finally, Denmark, Norway and Spain all have just the one hotbed of anatomical and physiological brilliance each. Denmark’s University of Copenhagen is the best-performing of these with a very credible 16th place. Not far behind them is Spain’s Universitat de Barcelona (UB) in 32nd. The University of Oslo from Norway is ranked 51-100.
Best universities for anatomy & physiology in Asia
Only four Asian countries are represented in the inaugural anatomy & physiology rankings, though each one apart from Singapore has more than one representative on the list. Japan lead the way with five top universities, including the University of Tokyo in the top 10. Lower down, the next-best performer is Kyoto University in 30th.
China and Taiwan both feature twice in the ranking, with Peking University in 25th placed the best-performing of the bunch. Taiwan’s two universities, the National Taiwan University (NTU) and National Yang Ming University, are both ranked 51-100.
Singapore’s sole entrant is the National University of Singapore (NUS) in joint 46th place.
Best universities for anatomy & physiology in Australia and New Zealand
Australia or New Zealand might be the place for budding anatomy & physiology enthusiasts to study as nine universities from these two countries are included in this year’s ranking, all of which are in the top 50. As well as the University of Sydney in the top 10, Australia has three more representatives in the top 20: the University of Melbourne, the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Australian National University (ANU).
New Zealand only has two universities in the ranking but both have performed extremely well. The University of Otago is ranked 24th, while the University of Auckland is just ten places behind in 34th.
Best universities for anatomy & physiology in the rest of the world
Elsewhere, Brazil is the only other country with more than one representative on the list with three universities all ranked 51-100. They are the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
Mexico only has one university on the list but they make the top 50 (just). 50th-placed Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) are flying the flag for an entire nation, as are the sole representatives from both Argentina and South Africa. The Universidad de Buenos Aires and the University of Cape Town are both ranked 51-100.
