The UK is the best country in the world to get a degree – if you study one of these subjects
The UK has emerged as the best country in the world for studying eight key subjects - did your uni steal the top spot?
The results of the annual World University Rankings by Subject are out, and while Oxford is the UK’s major winner this year, Cambridge missed out on snatching top spot for any degree subject.
There were also a few surprise winners this year. Sussex University has been declared the world’s number one uni to study Development Studies (stealing the top spot from Harvard in the US), and if you’re looking for a career in sport, Loughborough Uni is officially the best place in the world to prepare you for it.
Of the 46 degree subjects included in the rankings, Oxford took four number one positions - for English, Archaeology, Geography and Anatomy - making it one of only three universities to record world-leading performance in more than one subject.
The others are Harvard University - which has taken 15 top positions - and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), which has taken 12.
The UK's world class uni subjects
So what are the top eight subjects the UK is ranking for, and where can you study them?
- Anatomy & Physiology - Oxford
- Archaeology - Oxford
- Art & Design - Royal College of Art
- Development Studies - Sussex University
- Education - UCL Institute of Education
- English Language & Literature - Oxford
- Geography - Oxford
- Sports - Loughborough University
How does the UK compare globally?
Even though our unis are still some of the best in the world, they’re facing increasingly stiff global competition, the rankings have warned. Eastern Europe and Asia - particularly Russia and China - have started to give the UK a run for its money.
Cambridge also lost their top stop for Maths this year, and although they failed to gain number one position for any degree subject, they're the most consistently-ranking uni in the UK, with top ten spots for most subjects across the board.
However, this year’s list has been described as “less chilling” after last autumn’s overall rankings saw the UK’s performance slip on the world stage.
Ben Sowter, who headed the research for the subject rankings, has said:
Though the UK does see its share of overall places decrease, this is a trend observed by institutions in the US, Canada, and Australia, as other nations grow increasingly competitive.
The upper echelons of the tables remain dominated by the US and UK - and this seems likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
The best unis in the UK - by faculty
Arts & Humanities
- Oxford University
- Cambridge University
- London School of Economics (LSE)
Engineering & Technology
- Cambridge University
- Imperial College London
- Oxford University
Life Sciences & Medicine
- Cambridge University
- Oxford University
- University College London (UCL)
Natural Sciences
- Cambridge University
- Oxford University
- Imperial College London
Social Sciences & Management
- LSE
- Oxford University
- Cambridge University
You can view the full results here.
