China and US universities lead 2026 global subject rankings

ShanghaiRanking, a higher education consultancy, released the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2026 on Tuesday, listing 57 subjects across natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences, and social sciences. In total, around 2,000 universities from 96 countries and regions are featured in the list's 2026 edition.

Universities from the United States continue to dominate, securing top positions in 27 subjects, while Chinese universities follow closely with 22 subjects ranked No 1 worldwide.

In terms of the total number of appearances across all subjects, universities from the United States appear 4,119 times, followed by Chinese universities with 4,077 appearances, and universities from the United Kingdom with 1,536 appearances. In terms of the number of subjects, Zhejiang University leads with 57 subjects, followed by the National University of Singapore, appearing in 53 subjects.

Harvard University stands out as the best-performing institution, achieving 11 top positions in subjects including social sciences, life sciences, medical sciences, and engineering.

China's Tsinghua University leads in seven subjects, while MIT tops five. Meanwhile, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Indiana University Bloomington, and the University of Chicago each secure two top positions.