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ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2017: results

ShanghaiRanking has released its league table of academic subjects, ranking universities from all over the world in 52 subject areas

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  • Rankings for Students
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Seeta Bhardwa

Editor, THE Student
June 28 2017
Shanghai subject ranking

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The results of ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2017 have been released, revealing the best universities in 52 different subjects, according to the consultancy. These subjects are spread across five fields – natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences and social sciences. In total, more than 4,000 universities across the world were ranked.


Looking for the overall 2017 Shanghai Ranking results? Click here!


US universities take first place 32 times across the 52 subjects, while eight of the top spots are claimed by institutions from China, and five by universities in the Netherlands. The UK takes three of the top positions in geography (University of Cambridge). 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology came top in five subjects, four of those within the field of engineering.

Other universities to rank first more than once were Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research and Nanyang Technological University.  

The ranking was determined by a series of indicators such as the number of papers authored by an institution in an academic subject, international collaboration on papers, and the number of staff winning awards in an academic subject. The full methodology can be found here.

ShanghaiRanking’s top universities in 52 subjects

Fields

Subject

Institution

Country

 

Natural sciences

Mathematics

Princeton University

US

Physics

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

US

Chemistry

University of California, Berkeley

US

Earth sciences

ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

Switzerland

Geography

University of Oxford

UK

Ecology

University of Oxford

UK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Engineering

Mechanical engineering

University of Cambridge

UK

Electrical and electronic engineering

University of California, Berkeley

US

Automation and control

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

US

Telecommunication engineering

Tsinghua University

China

Instruments science and technology

Harbin Institute of Technology

China

Biomedical engineering

Harvard University

US

Computer science and engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

US

Civil engineering

Tongji University

China

Chemical engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

US

Materials science and engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

US

Nanoscience and nanotechnology

Nanyang Technological University

Singapore

Energy science and engineering

Nanyang Technological University

Singapore

Environmental science and engineering

Stanford University

US

Water resources

Delft University of Technology

Netherlands

Food Science and technology

Waginengen University & Research

Netherlands

Biotechnology

Harvard University

US

Aerospace engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

US

Marine/ocean engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

China

Transportation science and technology

Delft University of Technology

Netherlands

Remote sensing

Wuhan University

China

Mining and mineral engineering

University of Science and Technology Beijing

China

Metallurgical engineering

Central South University

China

 

Life sciences

Biological sciences

Harvard University

US

Human biological sciences

Harvard University

US

Agricultural sciences

Wageningen University & Research

Netherlands

Veterinary sciences

Ghent University

Belgium

 

 

Medical sciences

Clinical medicine

Harvard University

US

Public health

Harvard University

US

Dentistry and oral sciences

University of Michigan

US

Nursing

University of Pennsylvania

US

Medical technology

Harvard University

US

Pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Harvard University

US

 

 

 

Social sciences

Economics

University of Chicago

US

Statistics

Harvard University

US

Law

Harvard University

US

Political sciences

Harvard University

US

Sociology

Harvard University

US

Education

Stanford University

US

Communication

Ohio State University

US

Psychology

Harvard University

US

Business administration

University of Pennsylvania

US

Finance

York University

US

Management

Harvard University

US

Public administration

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Netherlands

Hospitality and tourism management

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

China-Hong Kong

Library and information science

Harvard University

US

Read more: 

Best universities for medicine 
Best universities for engineering degrees


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