42 Local Subjects Ranked in the Global Top 10

Where subject rankings matter

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) released its World University Rankings by Subject 2026 on Wednesday 25 March. 1. Overall: 42 subjects in the global top 10. Singapore's institutions placed 42 subjects in the world's top ten, behind only the United States and the United Kingdom. 2. The world's fastest-improving system. Seven local higher education institutions had 116 programmes ranked, with 76 subjects moving up, 15 down and 18 unchanged — the highest improvement rate globally. 3. NUS: seven subjects in the global top three. NUS was among the world's biggest movers, with seven subjects in the global top three — sixth-highest worldwide — including civil and structural engineering and materials science, both up to second globally. 4. NTU, SMU and others. NTU's communication and media studies rose to second globally, while its materials science slipped one place to third. SMU had ten subjects ranked, eight of them higher, with law up 45 places — its biggest jump. Art and design had the most local institutions listed, five in total: NUS rose from 30th to 19th, and LASALLE College of the Arts reached 67th — its first time in the global top 100 since entering the ranking in 2021. 5. Scope. The ranking covers about 1,900 universities across roughly 100 regions, assessing more than 21,000 programmes in 55 subjects across five faculties — arts and humanities, engineering and technology, life sciences and medicine, natural sciences, and social sciences and management — using indicators such as academic reputation, employer reputation and citations. 6. What it means for families. Overall rankings describe a university; subject rankings describe a programme. If your child already has a direction — engineering, materials, business, communication or art and design — subject rankings are the more useful guide. It also explains why the same university sits differently on different tables: QS weights academic and employer reputation, while THE's world ranking uses 17 indicators and leans more on research environment and quality. Reading both is safer than reading one. Source: Lianhe Zaobao, 25 March 2026, “QS世界大学学科排名 本地大学42个学科全球前十”; ranked by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds). Compiled by Singapore Global International; figures from the sources above, commentary our own. Original: https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/singapore/story20260325-8789008