Just now, THE Times Higher Education released the 2026 World University Rankings by subject.
Unlike the overall THE World University Rankings, the subject rankings offer more valuable reference for students who have a clear direction for their future development and major choices, helping them more accurately identify their dream schools.
The subject rankings use the same 18 performance indicators as the THE World University Rankings, recalibrated and reweighted to suit each field, and update the latest performances across 11 subjects in 2026.
Including: Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, Education, Law, Social Sciences, Computer Science, Engineering, Medical and Health, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Psychology.
Source: THE World University Rankings
When evaluating different subjects, the weight of each indicator is also adjusted to align with industry and field developments.
CheersYou（清柚教育） will provide a detailed analysis of the rankings for five popular study-abroad fields: Business and Economics, Education, Computer Science, Engineering, and Social Sciences, and also include rankings for other subjects.
Business and Economics
The Business and Economics ranking evaluates universities' performance in three core disciplines: Business and Management, Accounting and Finance, and Economics and Econometrics. This year's table includes 1,067 universities from 91 countries and regions.
MIT continues to rank first this year. Stanford University rises to second place, surpassing the University of Oxford. The National University of Singapore and the University of Pennsylvania enter the top ten.
China's Tsinghua University jumps to third place on the strength of its excellent research environment scores. The number of Asian institutions in the Business and Economics top ten increases to three.
Top 10 Rankings
Below is the list of the top 10 universities in Business and Economics:
Source: THE World University Rankings
Education
The Education ranking this year includes 830 universities worldwide, evaluating their performance in education research, teacher training, and academic studies in education.
Stanford University continues to top the list, beating UC Berkeley. Oxford and Cambridge rank third and fourth. The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor returns to the top ten.
Asian universities are strong performers, with three in the top ten: Tsinghua University (5th), the University of Hong Kong (7th), and Peking University (8th).
Top 10 Rankings
Below is the list of the top 10 universities in Education:
Source: THE World University Rankings
Computer Science
The Computer Science ranking includes 1,122 universities worldwide, evaluating performance in areas such as software development and engineering, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity and networks.
The University of Oxford holds onto first place in Computer Science. The University of Cambridge and ETH Zurich rank second and third.
MIT drops to fourth this year, and Peking University enters the world top ten for the first time.
Top 10 Rankings
Below is the list of the top 10 universities in Computer Science:
Source: THE World University Rankings
Engineering
Engineering includes 1,555 universities worldwide, with a focus on institutions excelling in General Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Chemical Engineering.
Harvard University maintains its global lead, followed closely by Oxford, MIT, Stanford, and Cambridge.
The global top 20 is dominated by universities from the US, UK, and Asia.
Top 10 Rankings
Below is the list of the top 10 universities in Engineering:
Source: THE World University Rankings
Social Sciences
This year's table covers 1,202 universities worldwide, highlighting institutions that lead in Communication and Media Studies, Political Science and International Studies, Sociology, Geography, and Anthropology.
MIT takes the top spot, with the top ten entirely composed of US and UK universities.
The highest-ranked university outside these two countries is China's Peking University, at 15th place.
Top 10 Rankings
Below is the list of the top 10 universities in Social Sciences:
Source: THE World University Rankings
Other Subject Rankings
Medical and Health Top 10
Law Top 10
Life Sciences Top 10
Physical Sciences Top 10
Psychology Top 10
Arts and Humanities Top 10
Compared with overall university rankings, subject rankings are more targeted, especially for students planning to apply to multiple countries or regions simultaneously.
However, we also remind everyone that no university ranking should be the sole criterion for university applications.
Your own background, school strengths, city convenience, tuition and living costs, employment opportunities, safety, and more should all be considered comprehensively. We wish you all the best in accurately identifying your dream school and getting admitted soon!
