The QS World University Rankings by Subject allow us to see which are the world’s best universities over 30 different subject areas. As well as looking at them on a global basis, we can also consider them country-by-country.
QS has created a set of reports, looking at a wide range of the world’s most popular study destinations. These allow you to quickly identify the strongest institutions in each of the 30 subject areas in a specific country.
They also allow you to identify in which subject areas a country is strongest – useful for both those who want to narrow down their options, or those who want to widen them, depending on how you look at it! They also allow you to see where countries have universities that were considered for the rankings, but didn’t quite make the top 200.
You can download or view the reports for free. All you need to do is register with TopUniversities.com (also free) and log in, and then you’re free to look at them to your heart’s content. To give you an idea of what’s available, here’s a quick snapshot of which subjects ten of most popular study abroad destinations have the greatest representation in, considering only universities that made the top 200. Where a country has equal representation in more than one subject, the one with the higher ranked institutions has been chosen.
Click on any of the countries to learn more about studying there.
View the full QS World University Rankings by Subject 2013 >
Australia
Best represented in: Education, with 23 institutions in top 200.
Top three in education
The University of Melbourne (3)
Monash University (6)
The University of Sydney (8)
Also consider Australia if you want to study: psychology (20 universities), communications & media studies, law or sociology (16 each).
Canada
Best represented in: Geography, with 19 institutions in top 200.
Top three in geography
University of British Columbia (10=)
University of Toronto (13)
McGill University (39)
Also consider Canada if you want to study: English literature & language, history or philosophy (14 universities each).
France
Best represented in: Mathematics, with 7 institutions in top 200.
Top three in mathematics
École Polytechnique ParisTech (24)
École Normale Supérieure, Paris (50=)
Université Paris Dauphine (51-100)
Also consider France if you want to study: history, earth & marine sciences (7 universities each), or statistics & operational research (6).
Germany
Best represented in: Linguistics, with 21 institutions in top 200.
Top three in linguistics
Freie Universität Berlin (41)
Universität Potsdam (45=)
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (47)
Also consider Germany if you want to study: physics (20 universities), medicine, pharmacy & pharmacology or chemistry (17 each)
Malaysia
Best represented in: Modern languages, with 6 institutions in top 200.
Top three in modern languages
Universiti Sains Malaysia (101-150)
International Islamic University Malaysia (151-200)
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (151-200)
Also consider Malaysia if you want to study: chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering or mechanical engineering (5 universities each).
New Zealand
Best represented in: Education, with 6 institutions in top 200.
Top three in education
The University of Auckland (24)
Massey University (51-100)
University of Canterbury (51-100)
Also consider New Zealand if you want to study: economics and econometrics (6 universities), accounting & finance, communications & media studies, computer science, law or sociology (5 each)
Singapore
Best represented in: Accounting & finance, with three institutions in top 200.
Top three in accounting & finance
National University of Singapore (11)
Nanyang Technological University (29)
Singapore Management University (51-100)
Also consider Singapore if you want to study: computer science, law, economics & econometrics or statistics & operational research (3 universities each).
South Korea
Best represented in: Communication & media studies, with 11 universities in top 200.
Top three in communication & media studies
Yonsei University (41)
Korea University (45)
Ewha Womans University (51-100)
Also consider South Korea if you want to study: chemical engineering (10 universities), electrical engineering, mechanical engineering or materials science (8 each).
United Kingdom
Best represented in: Politics & international studies
Top three in politics and international studies
London School of Economics and Political Science (2)
University of Oxford (4)
University of Cambridge (7)
Also consider the UK if you want to study: geography, history (37 universities each) or education (35 universities).
United States
Best represented in: Philosophy, with 61 institutions
Top three in philosophy
Princeton University (3)
New York University (4)
University of California, Berkeley (5)
Also consider the US if you want to study: sociology, communication & media studies (59 universities each), education or earth & marine sciences (58 each).