Higher education consultancy ShanghaiRanking released the 2026 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) on Sept 15, with three Shanghai-based universities each claiming a world No 1 ranking in their disciplines.

The list covers 57 subjects across five fields: natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences, and social sciences. Nearly 20,000 subject entries from more than 2,000 universities in 96 countries and regions were ranked.

Shanghai universities performed strongly this year, with 323 disciplines from 23 universities making the list, placing the city among the leading regions in China.

By total ranked disciplines, Shanghai Jiao Tong University had 50, while Fudan University had 48, ranking fifth and sixth nationally, respectively. Tongji University had 40 ranked disciplines, placing 15th nationally. East China Normal University and Shanghai University had 33 and 28 ranked disciplines, respectively.

In specific subject rankings, Shanghai claimed three world No 1 disciplines: Marine/Ocean Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Civil Engineering at Tongji University, and Textile Science & Engineering at Donghua University.

A total of 394 Chinese mainland universities made the list, with 22 disciplines from 15 institutions ranking world No 1. Tsinghua University had seven world No 1 disciplines, second only to Harvard University with 11.

Notably, Chinese mainland universities claimed the world's top spot in Chemistry and Oceanography for the first time, marking the first time they had a world No 1 discipline in the natural sciences.

In terms of the total number of ranked disciplines, Zhejiang University ranked first among Chinese mainland universities with 57 disciplines. It was also the only university in the world with all 57 subjects ranked. A total of 16 Chinese mainland universities had 40 or more ranked disciplines.

Source: Jiefang Daily