The QS World University Rankings by Subject evaluates universities across 55 individual subjects, grouped into five broad subject areas: Arts & Humanities, Engineering & Technology, Life Sciences & Medicine, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences & Management.
Each subject ranking uses five indicators to assess programme performance, with weights adjusted by discipline to reflect differences in publication and citation patterns.
Indicator Weights
| Indicator | Weight |
|---|---|
| Academic Reputation | Varies by subject |
| Employer Reputation | Varies by subject |
| Citations per Paper | Varies by subject |
| H-index | Varies by subject |
| International Research Network | Varies by subject |
Weights are adapted for each subject to account for prevalent research and publication patterns in that discipline. The Academic Reputation indicator typically carries the largest weight.
Indicator Definitions
Academic Reputation
Based on the QS Academic Survey, this indicator reflects which universities academics worldwide consider to be leading in a given subject area. Survey results are filtered by the respondent's area of expertise, ensuring that only relevant specialist opinions are counted.
Employer Reputation
Derived from the QS Employer Survey, this indicator captures which universities employers prefer to recruit graduates from. Employers also identify the disciplines from which they prefer to hire.
Citations per Paper
All citation data is sourced from the Elsevier Scopus database. A minimum publication threshold is set for each subject to avoid anomalies from small numbers of highly cited papers. Both the threshold and the indicator weight are adjusted by discipline.
H-index
The H-index measures both the productivity and citation impact of a university's research output in a given subject. It is based on the set of most-cited papers and the number of citations they have received.
International Research Network
The International Research Network (IRN) index measures an institution's ability to build and maintain diverse international research partnerships. It evaluates both the breadth and sustainability of cross-border research collaborations.
Data Sources
- Academic Reputation: QS Academic Survey
- Employer Reputation: QS Employer Survey
- Citations, H-index, and IRN: Scopus (Elsevier)