The U.S. News Best Global Universities by Subject Rankings evaluates universities in specific academic disciplines, using the same bibliometric and reputation-based methodology framework as the overall Best Global Universities Rankings, with weights adjusted for each subject area.
The rankings cover over 40 subject areas across the sciences, engineering, social sciences, and health.
Indicator Framework
The subject rankings use a subset and reweighting of the same indicators used in the overall ranking:
| Indicator | Description |
|---|---|
| Global research reputation | Academic experts' assessment of research quality in the specific subject |
| Regional research reputation | Regional academics' assessment of research quality in the specific subject |
| Publications | Total number of papers in the subject |
| Normalized citation impact | Average citations per paper, normalized by field and year |
| Total citations | Total citations received by the institution's papers in the subject |
| Number of publications among the 10% most cited | Volume of highly impactful papers in the subject |
| Percentage of publications among the 10% most cited | Proportion of output that is highly impactful |
| International collaboration — relative to country | International co-authorship rate compared to national average |
| International collaboration | Absolute international co-authorship rate |
| Number of highly cited papers — top 1% | Count of the most exceptional papers |
| Percentage of highly cited papers — top 1% | Proportion of output that is among the most exceptional |
Not all indicators are used in every subject ranking. For example, some subjects do not include the books or conferences indicators.
Subject-Specific Adjustments
Indicator weights vary by subject to reflect differences in research and publication patterns. Subjects with strong citation cultures (such as clinical medicine or physics) may place more weight on citation-based indicators, while subjects with smaller publication volumes may emphasize reputation more heavily.
The reputation surveys are filtered by subject, using only responses from academics who identify expertise in the specific discipline.
All publication and citation data is scoped to the relevant subject area using Clarivate's Web of Science subject classifications.
Data Sources
- Reputation data: U.S. News global and regional academic reputation surveys (conducted by Clarivate)
- Publication and citation data: Clarivate Web of Science and InCites