Which Universities Have U.S. News No. 1 Subjects?

On June 16, U.S. News released the 2026–2027 Best Global Universities Rankings on its official website (full rankings: https://www.worldhe.com/article/detail/320). At the same time, U.S. News also published its 2026–2027 Best Global Universities Subject Rankings, covering 51 academic disciplines.

According to the rankings, a total of 24,050 ranked subjects from 2,503 universities worldwide were included. China Mainland led by a substantial margin, with 5,413 ranked subjects from 470 universities, far ahead of the United States, which had 3,697 ranked subjects from 258 universities. The United Kingdom ranked third with 1,292 ranked subjects from 96 universities, followed by Germany with 1,057 ranked subjects from 77 universities.

Among the 51 disciplines, China Mainland and the United States each had 23 subjects ranked No. 1 globally. Singapore and the United Kingdom each had two disciplines ranked first worldwide, while Hong Kong, China had one discipline ranked No. 1.

In terms of institutional performance, 20 universities worldwide held at least one globally top-ranked subject. Harvard University led the way with 18 No. 1 subjects, followed by Tsinghua University with 10. The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences had three top-ranked subjects, while China Agricultural University, Peking University, and the University of Oxford each had two. Another 14 universities had one globally top-ranked subject each.

Looking at overall subject performance, 53 universities from China Mainland placed 204 subjects in the global Top 10, significantly outperforming the United States (162 subjects) and the United Kingdom (47 subjects). Chinese universities demonstrated particularly strong competitiveness in traditional STEM fields such as engineering, materials science, chemistry, and energy, while U.S. institutions maintained leadership in life sciences, medicine, humanities, and social sciences.

At the institutional level, Harvard University had 26 subjects ranked in the global Top 10, spanning nearly all major life science and medical disciplines, underscoring its dominance in these fields. Stanford University and Tsinghua University each had 22 subjects in the global Top 10, while Zhejiang University had 21, highlighting the strength of their leading disciplines.

In addition, the University of British Columbia was ranked in all 51 subjects covered by the rankings. Zhejiang University, Peking University, Sun Yat-sen University, Monash University, Ghent University, University of New South Wales, and the University of Melbourne each had 50 subjects ranked, demonstrating exceptional breadth and overall disciplinary strength.