Rankings: Top universities in the world by subject 2026

Across Asia, only universities from China, Hong Kong, and Singapore secured places in the global top 10.

Times Higher Education (THE) has released its World University Rankings by Subject 2026. The evaluation spans 11 major subject areas, and institutions in the US and UK continue to lead the global tables.

Subject	Top institution	Country/territory
Arts and Humanities	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	United States
Business and Economics	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	United States
Medical and Health	University of Oxford	United Kingdom
Computer Science	University of Oxford	United Kingdom
Education Studies	Stanford University	United States
Engineering	Harvard University	United States
Law	Stanford University	United States
Life Sciences	Harvard University	United States
Physical Sciences	California Institute of Technology	United States
Psychology	University of Cambridge	United Kingdom
Social Sciences	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	United States

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Asian universities, however, continue to strengthen their presence. China added three more institutions to the global top 10 compared with the previous year, while Hong Kong and Singapore saw one and two universities respectively make the top tier.

Among Asian universities, 17% climbed the rankings in life sciences, 16% in physical sciences, and 19% in computer science. Nearly half (47%) improved their position in law, with strong upward movement also seen in education (32%), arts and humanities (29%), and business and economics (26%). Notably, three Asian universities entered the global top 10 for business and economics for the first time.

How Asia’s universities rank by subject in 2026

Arts and Humanities

Ranking	Top institution	Country/territory
19	National University of Singapore	Singapore
30	Tsinghua University	China
34	Peking University	China
=46	The University of Tokyo	Japan
55	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
66	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
77	The Hong Kong Polytechnic University	Hong Kong
91	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China
=92	Fudan University	China
=92	Tongji University	China

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Business and Economics

Ranking	Top institution	Country/territory
3	Tsinghua University	China
7	Peking University	China
=10	National University of Singapore	Singapore
25	Fudan University	China
25	The Hong Kong Polytechnic University	Hong Kong
=26	The University of Tokyo	Japan
28	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China
=30	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology	Hong Kong
34	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore
36	City University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
38	Zhejiang University	China
40	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
42	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
57	Korea University	South Korea
68	Seoul National University	South Korea
=79	Yonsei University (Seoul campus)	South Korea
=93	University of Science and Technology of China	China
98	Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)	South Korea

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Computer Science

Ranking	Top institution	Country/territory
10	Peking University	China
12	Tsinghua University	China
=13	National University of Singapore	Singapore
16	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore
23	Zhejiang University	China
=25	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China
=25	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology	Hong Kong
32	Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)	South Korea
34	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
37	The University of Tokyo	Japan
44	Seoul National University	South Korea
46	Fudan University	China
47	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
49	University of Science and Technology of China	China
60	Nanjing University	China
61	City University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
70	Kyoto University	Japan
70	The Hong Kong Polytechnic University	Hong Kong
=78	Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)	South Korea
81	Institute of Science Tokyo	Japan
82	Yonsei University (Seoul campus)	South Korea
88	Tohoku University	Japan
=89	Harbin Institute of Technology	China
91	Korea University	South Korea
96	Indian Institute of Science	India
97	Wuhan University	China
100	Beihang University	China

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Education Studies

Ranking	Top institution	Country/territory
5	Tsinghua University	China
7	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
8	Peking University	China
13	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
19	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore
20	Beijing Normal University	China
25	The University of Tokyo	Japan
34	The Education University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
38	Zhejiang University	China
46	East China Normal University	China
49	National Taiwan Normal University	Taiwan
=50	Seoul National University	South Korea
=54	Kyoto University	Japan
=54	Nanjing University	China
=80	University of Malaya	Malaysia
83	University of Macau	Macao
=90	Korea University	South Korea
98	Yonsei University (Seoul campus)	South Korea

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Engineering

Ranking	Top institution	Country/territory
8	Peking University	China
10	National University of Singapore	Singapore
13	Tsinghua University	China
14	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore
23	Zhejiang University	China
24	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China
29	The University of Tokyo	Japan
32	Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)	South Korea
36	Fudan University	China
37	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
=38	Seoul National University	South Korea
=38	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology	Hong Kong
42	Harbin Institute of Technology	China
43	The Hong Kong Polytechnic University	Hong Kong
=44	University of Science and Technology of China	China
49	Tongji University	China
51	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
=52	Kyoto University	Japan
=52	Nanjing University	China
58	City University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
61	Tohoku University	Japan
67	Yonsei University (Seoul campus)	South Korea
68	Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)	South Korea
69	Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH)	South Korea
70	Institute of Science Tokyo	Japan
70	Xi’an Jiaotong University	China
=76	Tianjin University	China
=79	Southeast University	China
=79	Wuhan University	China
=81	Huazhong University of Science and Technology	China
87	Korea University	South Korea
=88	Beihang University	China
=88	National Taiwan University (NTU)	Taiwan

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Law

Ranking	Top institution	Country/territory
12	Peking University	China
15	National University of Singapore	Singapore
16	Tsinghua University	China
=27	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China
=27	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
38	Zhejiang University	China
41	City University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
49	Wuhan University	China
51	The University of Tokyo	Japan
55	Tongji University	China
=59	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
77	Fudan University	China
=99	Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia	Malaysia

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Life Sciences

Ranking	Top institution	Country/territory
12	Peking University	China
13	Tsinghua University	China
19	National University of Singapore	Singapore
30	The University of Tokyo	Japan
37	Fudan University	China
38	Zhejiang University	China
43	Kyoto University	Japan
47	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
48	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore
54	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China
55	Seoul National University	South Korea
59	The University of Osaka	Japan
72	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
73	Nanjing University	China
=75	Tohoku University	Japan
=75	University of Science and Technology of China	China
78	Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)	South Korea
80	City University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong

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Medicine

Ranking	Top institution	Country/territory
13	National University of Singapore	Singapore
=15	Tsinghua University	China
18	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
24	Peking University	China
25	The University of Tokyo	Japan
26	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
=34	Fudan University	China
=40	Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)	South Korea
45	Seoul National University	South Korea
47	Kyoto University	Japan
=49	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China
57	Yonsei University (Seoul campus)	South Korea
65	The University of Osaka	Japan
69	Zhejiang University	China
=78	National Taiwan University (NTU)	Taiwan
86	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore
92	Tohoku University	Japan

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Physical Sciences

Ranking	Top institution	Country/territory
10	Tsinghua University	China
11	National University of Singapore	Singapore
=12	Peking University	China
22	Fudan University	China
23	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore
24	The University of Tokyo	Japan
26	Nanjing University	China
32	University of Science and Technology of China	China
34	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China
37	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
43	Zhejiang University	China
57	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology	Hong Kong
59	Kyoto University	Japan
64	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
65	City University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
=68	Seoul National University	South Korea
=72	Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)	South Korea
=85	Beijing Normal University	China
=88	Wuhan University	China
92	Tohoku University	Japan
99	The Hong Kong Polytechnic University	Hong Kong
=99	Yonsei University (Seoul campus)	South Korea

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Psychology

Ranking	Top institution	Country/territory
21	Peking University	China
30	Beijing Normal University	China
=37	National University of Singapore	Singapore
62	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
63	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
70	The University of Tokyo	Japan
75	Kyoto University	Japan

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Social Sciences

Ranking	Top institution	Country/territory
15	Peking University	China
=16	National University of Singapore	Singapore
20	Tsinghua University	China
33	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
=35	The University of Tokyo	Japan
46	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore
52	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
52	The Hong Kong Polytechnic University	Hong Kong
59	City University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
78	Kyoto University	Japan
=80	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China
88	Fudan University	China
=89	Zhejiang University	China