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UNSW tops world subject rankings for sixth year

The University appears in 52 out of 54 research disciplines, making it equal first worldwide for the highest number of subjects ranked.

Published on the 20 Jul 2022 by Stefanie Menezes
UNSW's impressive results highlight the University's efforts to support world-class research and researchers. Photo: UNSW.

UNSW Sydney has swept the prestigious ShanghaiRanking's Global Rankings of Academic Subjects (GRAS) for the sixth year in a row, leading the nation with the greatest number of subjects listed.

Globally, UNSW and the University of British Columbia had the highest number of subjects included on the list, appearing in 52 out of 54 research disciplines. For breadth of quality research worldwide, UNSW has placed first or equal first for the sixth consecutive year.

The University had 10 subjects ranked first in Australia this year. Two UNSW subjects feature in the top 10 globally - Mining & Mineral Engineering and Water Resources – both in 10th place. UNSW also had 21 subjects in the top 50, more than any other Australian institution.

UNSW ranked first in Australia in Water Resources, Library & Information Science, Remote Sensing, Civil Engineering, Psychology, Finance, Mechanical Engineering, Atmospheric Science, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, and Chemistry.                           

ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects has published the world university ranking by academic subjects since 2009. The 2022 edition assessed 5000 universities in 54 subjects across natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences, and social sciences.

Professor Nicholas Fisk, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research & Enterprise congratulated the University community on its achievements.

“Today’s results underscore the breadth, depth and consistency of UNSW research across almost the whole range of disciplines. To be up there as the world’s most comprehensive university for six years on the trot is a remarkable achievement. Such broad firepower across both HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), positions UNSW as a multidisciplinary powerhouse in tackling the planet’s grand challenges,” Professor Fisk said.

United States universities continued to cement their top positions in the rankings, occupying first place in 32 disciplines. Harvard University leads as the best performing institution, taking 16 crowns, ShanghaiRanking said in a statement.

The GRAS rankings use a range of objective academic indicators and third-party data to measure the performance of world universities in respective subjects, including research output (Q1), research influence (CNCI), international collaboration (IC), research quality (Top), and international academic awards (Award). View the detailed methodology and full results.

The list of UNSW subjects ranked in the top 50 globally includes:

  • Water Resources (global ranking 10)
  • Mining & Mineral Engineering (10)
  • Library & Information Science (12)
  • Remote Sensing (17)
  • Civil Engineering (20)
  • Oceanography (20)
  • Psychology (25)
  • Energy Science & Engineering (25)
  • Telecommunication Engineering (26)
  • Transportation Science & Technology (26)
  • Finance (29)
  • Marine/Ocean Engineering (33)
  • Mechanical Engineering (36)
  • Atmospheric Science (37)
  • Electrical & Electronic Engineering (37)
  • Public Health (39)
  • Metallurgical Engineering (42)
  • Aerospace Engineering (45)
  • Environmental Science & Engineering (48)
  • Instruments Science & Technology (49)
  • Earth Sciences (49)