Mainland universities 3rd best in latest QS rankings

Prestigious Chinese universities have secured top global rankings in several academic disciplines, according to the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings by Subject 2025.

The Chinese mainland universities placed third globally, with 1,230 subjects listed, trailing only the United States and the United Kingdom. Peking University and Tsinghua University led the way with top-three placements. Peking University's Linguistics and Classics and Ancient History disciplines, along with Tsinghua University's Art History and Environmental Sciences, were among the highest ranked in the latest QS rankings.

Among Hong Kong Special Administrative Region institutions, the University of Hong Kong had the most top-200 placements, with 55 subjects listed. The Chinese University of Hong Kong saw significant improvement, with 43 subjects rising in the rankings. Fudan University also showed notable progress, with 46 subjects listed, ranking first among Chinese mainland universities in terms of the total number of subjects listed.

The 15th edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject analyzed more than 1,700 universities across 100 countries and regions, covering 55 academic disciplines.

The Chinese mainland saw an upward trend, with 60 percent of its ranked subjects improving, while only 2 percent declined. Nine percent remained stable, while 358 new subject entries were added.

Chinese universities demonstrated comprehensive progress across all five QS evaluation metrics, with particularly strong performance in academic reputation. Overall, the Chinese mainland recorded a 64 percent improvement in this category, ranking third globally.

The China University of Geosciences led the world in academic reputation for geology, ranking 11th overall in the subject.

Seven of the world's top 10 fastest-improving universities this year are from the Chinese mainland, according to the new QS rankings.

The rankings also highlighted China's growing research strength, particularly in the H-Index, which measures the productivity and citation impact of publications. Chinese universities topped the HIndex in 14 subjects, ranking second globally behind the United States. The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences led in six disciplines.

In Materials Science, 66 Chinese universities secured rankings, with three making it into the world's top 20. Tsinghua University led among Chinese institutions, ranking sixth globally.

Art History emerged as a successful subject for the Chinese mainland, with two universities securing top 10 positions. Tsinghua University ranked third globally, while Tongji University in Shanghai followed at eighth place.

Engineering remained a stronghold for Chinese universities, with Tsinghua University ranking in the global top 10 across multiple engineering fields, contributing to its seventh-place ranking in the broader Engineering and Technology category.

Peking University made significant strides in Linguistics and Classics and Ancient History, climbing to second place in both subjects, with improvements of 21 and 10 places, respectively. These advancements were attributed to increases in academic reputation and employer reputation, according to the rankings.

In Education, Beijing Normal University entered the global top 10, securing the seventh spot.

Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong province and Xiamen University in Fujian province had the most new subjects listed this year, with each institution adding 13 new disciplines to their QS rankings.