ShanghaiRanking, a renowned higher education evaluation agency, released the 2025 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects on Nov 18. The ranking assessed nearly 20,000 academic programs from over 2,000 universities across 92 countries and regions.

The 2025 ranking methodology is based on five key modules: World-Class Faculty, World-Class Research Output, High-Quality Research, Research Impact, and International Collaboration. These are further divided into nine objective indicators that measure global academic competitiveness.

This year's ranking introduced two new disciplines, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Science and Engineering. Chinese institutions claimed five spots within the global top 10 across these lists. Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University ranked 2nd and 4th in AI, while Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tsinghua University, and the Harbin Institute of Technology placed 6th, 8th, and 9th in Robotics Science and Engineering.

Over the past decade, both the total number of entries and the number of ranked institutions from the Chinese mainland have grown steadily. This year, Chinese mainland universities lead in 21 subjects with 3,747 entries, the second-highest total worldwide, and 359 institutions featured in the rankings.

For the first time, Chinese mainland universities have claimed the top global position in three disciplines: Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering. This brings the total number of subjects in which Chinese mainland universities rank first to 21. Leading institutions include Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, and Donghua University.

Shanghai's universities also delivered outstanding results, with 301 subjects from 21 institutions making the rankings.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University led the city with 50 subjects, followed by Fudan University with 45, Tongji University with 38, East China Normal University with 31, and Shanghai University with 25. Other institutions with 10 or more entries include ShanghaiTech University with 18, East China University of Science and Technology with 17, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology with 17, Donghua University with 16, and Shanghai Maritime University with 10.

In specific subject rankings, Shanghai institutions secured four global first-place positions:

- Shanghai Jiao Tong University: Biomedical Engineering, Marine and Ocean Engineering

- Tongji University: Civil Engineering

- Donghua University: Textile Science and Engineering

Additionally, 22 disciplines from Shanghai entered the global top 10, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Energy Science & Engineering in 2nd place, Fudan University's Pharmacy in 4th, and Tongji University's Transportation Science and Technology in 5th.

Source: Shanghai Observer