China Subject Ratings 2024: results announced

Browse the full results of the China Subject Ratings 2024

A small group of universities worldwide are excelling across a broad range of disciplines, according to the latest Times Higher Education China Subject Ratings.

The ratings reveal how 1,885 global universities are performing across 83 different subjects classified by the Chinese Ministry of Education (MoE). Institutions are given a grade between an A+ and a C− in each subject, based on their performance across four core areas: teaching, research, international outlook and knowledge transfer.

This year’s results show that just 23 universities received a rating for all 83 subjects, and 17 of those institutions received an average grade between A+ and A−.

The largest share of those universities with broad excellence are based in the US (six), followed by Australia (three) and Italy (two). Brazil, Canada, China, France, Portugal and the UK all have one institution in the group.

China’s representative is Zhejiang University, which achieves 72 A+ grades – the second-highest number among this elite group, behind only Australia’s University of Melbourne (78), and the 15th-highest number in the full table.

Meanwhile, universities that are rated in just a few subjects tend to receive a lower average grade. Of the 59 institutions that are rated in three or fewer subjects, 35 received an average grade between C+ and C–, and just three received an A or an A−. None received an A+.

The results suggest that expertise across a broad range of disciplines – rather than focusing efforts on just a few – is key to success in the China Subject Ratings.

The findings echo a THE analysis of World University Rankings data in 2016, which found that an elite group of 14 universities featured at the top of all eight subject rankings as well as the overall global table. Last year, that number had dropped to just 13 different universities across the top five of the now 11 subject rankings.

The China Subject Ratings 2024 also reveal that universities in mainland China are the top-performing institutions in the world in three subjects: astronomy; aerospace science and technology; and integrated circuit science and engineering.

Germany achieves the highest average grade in 28 subjects, more than any other country, making it the top-performing nation for the second consecutive year.

Australia, the Netherlands and the UK are the next top-performing nations, achieving the highest average grades in 20, nine and eight subjects, respectively. Mainland China is seventh in the country table. The analysis excluded nations with fewer than 10 universities in each subject.

Overall, China receives an average grade of B+ – putting it in the same category as the US and Canada – above the global average of a B.

Pillar-level analysis

We have grouped the 83 subjects into 13 pillars, in line with China’s classification (excluding the military pillar as we have not rated performance for subjects in this area).

Philosophy
Germany is the top-performing nation for philosophy, achieving an average grade of B+ based on data from 33 of its universities. Three of its institutions gain the highest score, A+. Fifteen mainland Chinese universities are rated for philosophy; one of these, Peking University, receives an A.

Economics
Germany also achieves the highest average grade for theoretical economics, while the UK is best for applied economics; both countries score an A− in their respective subjects. Mainland China receives an average grade of B+ in theoretical economics and B in applied economics. Five institutions in the country achieve the top grade of A+ in both subjects – Fudan, Nanjing, Peking, Tsinghua and Zhejiang universities.

Law
The Netherlands is once again the top-performing country for the two law subjects, scoring an A for both political science and sociology. The lowest score for law in the nation is an A− in sociology at one institution; all other universities achieve an A+ or A in the two subjects. Mainland China receives an average grade of B+ in sociology and B in political science. Peking and Tsinghua universities are the only institutions in the nation to receive an A+ in the two areas.

Education
There are three subjects included under the education pillar – education, physical education and psychology. Australia comes top for the first two (A− in both), while Germany is best for the last (B+). Of the 19 Chinese institutions rated in the education subject, five receive an A+, while three out of 19 receive an A+ for physical education. Only Peking University gets the top grade for psychology.

Literature
The UK is the top-performing country for foreign language and literature, achieving an average grade of B+, while the Netherlands achieves the highest rating for media/communications/journalism, with an average grade of A. Two mainland Chinese institutions achieve an A+ in both subjects: Peking University and Tsinghua University.

History
Australia is again the top-performing nation for world history (the only subject in this pillar), achieving an average grade of B+ based on data from 26 of its universities. Mainland China scores an average grade of B, based on data from 13 institutions. Peking University is the top performer, achieving an A+.

Physical science
There are 13 subjects under the physical science pillar. Germany comes out top in four of them (physics, geophysics, geology and ecology) while the UK is top for three (geography, atmospheric sciences and systems sciences). China achieves the highest average performance for astronomy; just 10 institutions receive a rating for this subject, but half of those get an A+ and only one rates below an A−. Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland and Australia are the other countries that top a physical science subject.

Engineering
There are 35 subjects under the engineering pillar. Germany is top on average for 14 of them, achieving an average grade of no less than A− in each case, while Australia is top for 13 of them. Saudi Arabia is the next best-performing country, topping four of the subjects, followed by the US with two. The UK and mainland China are best for one subject each. China leads in aerospace science and technology, receiving an average grade of A.

Agriculture
There are nine subjects under the agriculture pillar. Germany leads six of them, and the other four are led by the US. Few mainland Chinese institutions are rated for agriculture. The most popular subjects in the country are agricultural resources and environment, crop science and plant protection. Zhejiang is the only institution in the nation to receive a rating in all nine subjects; it achieves eight A+ grades, and one A.

Medical
There are seven subjects under the medical pillar. The Netherlands comes out top in three of them: public health and preventive medicine; medical technology; and nursing. Germany is best on average for basic medicine/medical science and clinical medicine, while Canada is top for stomatology, and Australia is top for pharmacy. Mainland China’s best subject in the medical pillar is basic medicine/medical science: 34 institutions in the country are rated in this area and score an average grade of A−.

Management
There are five subjects under the management pillar. The UK leads on management science and engineering, and business administration; the Netherlands leads on public administration, and library information and archives management; and the US leads on agriculture and forestry economic management. Mainland China’s top subject in the management pillar is public administration: 12 institutions in the country are rated in this area and score an average grade of A−.

Interdisciplinary
In the one interdisciplinary subject, integrated circuit science and engineering, mainland China tops the table with an average grade of A, based on 27 universities.

Note: We have excluded the arts pillar in the article analysis because the data quality was not sufficient for country-level comparisons.

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com