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UNSW steers a steady course in the 2022 QS Subject Rankings

Mineral & Mining Engineering is the University’s highest ranking subject, moving up two places to third in the world.

Published on the 07 Apr 2022 by Belinda Henwood
The QS World University Rankings by Subject aim to help prospective students identify the leading schools in their chosen field. Photo: UNSW.

UNSW Sydney has been named one of the world’s top universities for the study of 41 subjects in the 2022 QS World University Rankings by Subject. Five UNSW subjects are ranked in the top 20 globally, and 20 are in the top 50.

Mineral & Mining Engineering is the highest ranking UNSW subject, moving from fifth to third in the world. This is its sixth year in the top 10 and as UNSW’s best-performing subject.

UNSW is ranked number one in Australia for five subjects – Civil & Structural Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering, Accounting & Finance and Statistics & Operational Research (equal first). Both Accounting & Finance and Statistics & Operational Research have moved up from second place in 2021.

Pro Vice-Chancellor Research Scientia Professor Sven Rogge noted that the results across diverse disciplines underscore UNSW’s breadth of quality in research and teaching.

“UNSW’s achievements in so many disciplines – from engineering and the sciences to the humanities – are testament to our focus on solving society’s challenges. We can be proud of our endeavours and our contribution to the social and economic future of Australia.”

The five UNSW subjects in the top 20 globally are Mineral & Mining Engineering (3), Civil & Structural Engineering (13), Law (14), Petroleum Engineering (17) and Accounting & Finance (20).

Read more: Australian universities are outpacing their global counterparts

UNSW subjects ranked in the top 50 are:

  • Engineering – Mineral & Mining Engineering (3)
  • Engineering – Civil & Structural (13)
  • Law (14)
  • Engineering – Petroleum (17)
  • Accounting & Finance (20)
  • Environmental Sciences (22)
  • Psychology (26)
  • Earth & Marine Sciences (35)
  • Economics & Econometrics (36)
  • Engineering – Electrical & Electronic (37)
  • Geophysics (39)
  • Geology (39)
  • Materials Science (39)
  • Architecture / Built Environment (41)
  • Medicine (43)
  • Business & Management Studies (44)
  • Anatomy & Physiology (47)
  • English Language & Literature (48)
  • Sports-related subjects (49)
  • Engineering – Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing (50)

Published annually since 2011, the global QS Subject Rankings are based on academic reputation, employer reputation and research citations. The 2022 league table ranked 1543 institutions, an increase of 100 since 2021. UNSW has ranked in one additional subject area in 2022 – Hospitality & Leisure Management (101-150).

The rankings aim to help prospective students identify the world’s leading schools in their chosen field, with the list of subjects extended each year in response to high demand for subject-level comparisons.