UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State ranked in 41 out of 54 subjects across all five broad subject areas in the 2023 World University Rankings by Subject, recently released by QS, one of the major three international organizations who annually rank academic institutions.
For 2023, QS ranked 1,594 institutions across 54 subjects in five broad disciplines. Penn State does not offer programs in all of the 54 subjects that QS reviewed.
Penn State had a strong showing worldwide, ranking in the top 25 in eight subject areas, and in the top 50 in 19 areas. The subject areas in which Penn State ranked in the top 25 worldwide are: sports-related subjects (13); earth and marine sciences (14); geophysics (tied for 14); geology (15); mineral and mining engineering (tied for 17); petroleum engineering (19); hospitality and leisure management (23), and communication and media studies (25).
Penn State also showcased its interdisciplinarity, ranking in the top 75 in the world in the broad subject areas of natural sciences, social sciences and management, and engineering and technology.
“The University’s subject rankings reflect the strength of our faculty across a broad range of disciplines,” said Sabine Klahr, associate vice provost for Penn State Global. “It’s one of the factors that makes the University very attractive to international students and to partner institutions worldwide.”
The subject rankings are based on academic and employer reputation surveys; research output sourced from Elsevier; and a new metric this year, international research network, which examines a university’s sustained international research collaboration.
The release of this ranking follows the June 2022 release of the 2023 QS Overall World University Rankings, in which Penn State ranked No. 93 in the world.
Of the three major international rankings organizations, QS is the most widely read by prospective students and parents. The two other organizations are the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU, also known as the Shanghai ranking) and Times Higher Education.
For more information, contact Richard Spicer, assistant director for Global Outreach, at rks5111@psu.edu.