There is no doubt that world university rankings often play a part in a student’s decision as to where they want to set their application sights. Year after year the top places are dominated by world class US and UK universities - from MIT, Stanford and Harvard to Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London.
While these rankings are important determining factors as to the calibre of the institution in regards to their academic and employer reputation, their staff, student to faculty ratio and quality research output all play a role in rankings, causing the lists themselves to shift somewhat when it comes to altering the criteria in one important way - the area of study based on a career oriented major.
It is true that the world’s top universities still feature heavily on a vast array of subject area lists, but examining the subtle shifts in rankings based on your potential eventual academic focus can be an interesting exercise.
Of course, Crimson Education strategists personalise every one of their student’s best fit university lists with an eye to their individual academic preferences...but to give you an idea of how your preferred US or UK universities rank based on some of the most popular areas of study, take a look at QS’s most recent rankings by subject areas below:
Politics and International Studies
Harvard University
University of Oxford
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
University of Cambridge
Stanford University
Princeton University
University of California Berkeley
Yale University
Columbia University
University of Chicago
Engineering and Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Stanford University
University of Cambridge
University of California Berkeley
University of Oxford
Imperial College London (ICL)
Harvard University
Georgia Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology (CalTech)
Carnegie Mellon University
Natural Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Stanford University
Harvard University
Cambridge University
Oxford University
University of California Berkeley
California Institute of Technology (CalTech)
Imperial College London
Princeton University
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
Business and Management
Harvard University
London Business School
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
University of Pennsylvania
Stanford University
University of Cambridge
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
University of Oxford
University of California Berkeley
Northwestern University
Economics and Econometrics
Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Stanford University
University of California Berkeley
University of Chicago
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Princeton University
Yale University
8University of Oxford
University of Cambridge
Psychology
Harvard University
Stanford University
University of Oxford
University of Cambridge
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of California Berkeley
Yale University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
University of Michigan
University College London (UCL)
Art and Design
Royal College of Art (UK)
University of the Arts London
Parsons School of Design at the New School
Rhode Island School of Design
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
The Glasgow School of Art
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Pratt Institute
Goldsmiths, University of London
Art Center College of Design
More Articles
Top Dual Degree Programs: A Comprehensive List for Ambitious Students