Compared to last year, the University of Zurich (UZH) has achieved a higher ranking in all five subject areas in this year’s “QS World University Rankings by Subject.” In the subject Anatomy & Physiology, which is new in the 2017 survey, UZH is ranked 20^th in the world; in Dentistry, UZH is ranked 29^th.  UZH also numbers among the world’s 50 best universities in Communications & Media Studies (40) as well as in Economics & Econometrics (49). And in Switzerland, UZH is Number One in 11 subjects.

Named after its publisher, Quacquarelli Symonds Limited, the QS Ranking compares higher education institutions in a total of 36 individual subjects that are grouped (and rated) in five general subject areas. Thanks to the improvement in all areas, UZH is now rated among the world’s top 100 universities in four of the five subject areas. In Life Science & Medicine, UZH achieved a rank of 43 (last year: 50) and made a large advance in Natural Sciences, now ranking 59^th (117^th last year). UZH also ranks among the top 100 universities in the Social Sciences & Management (91^st) and Arts & Humanities (97^th). Another large improvement was made in the fifth subject area, Engineering & Technology, where UZH moved up from the 228^th place to rank 188.

In addition to the subjects in which it ranks among the top 50 universities in the world, UZH is one of the best 100 universities in eleven other subjects. These are: Archaeology, linguistics, modern languages, theology, biology, medicine, geography, environmental sciences, mathematics, physics, and anthropology. Compared to other Swiss higher education institutions, UZH is the country’s best university in 11 of 36 subjects surveyed and second-best in seven additional subjects.

The QS World University Rankings began rating the world’s top universities in 2004 and – like the THE Ranking – publishes one of the world’s most widely read and respected surveys of higher education institutions. In 2011, an annual ranking by subject was introduced, the “QS World University Rankings  by Subject.” Unlike the institutional rankings, the subject rankings focus on individual subjects rather than rating an entire institution. The best universities in the subjects are then defined based on four indicators: Citations per scholarly paper, H-index, and reputation surveys of academics and employers. The weighting of the indicators and the size of the best-of lists are adapted to the individual subject.