Eighty-three subjects across 1,885 research-intensive universities are assessed in Times Higher Education’s China Subject Ratings 2024 providing the most detailed, rigorous and comprehensive assessment of university subjects across the world.
The 83 subjects are selected from the full list of Chinese Ministry of Education’s subjects' classification based on the quality of data and international relevance. Higher education institutions are given a grade between A+ and C− in each subject, based on their performance across five areas: teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industry income.
A total of 448 universities achieved an A+ in at least one subject. The University of California, Los Angeles (US) achieved the highest average grade globally and mainland China’s Tsinghua University managed to achieve the highest average grade in that country.
The rating, launched in 2020, is the only performance table that judges Chinese institutions against their global peers based on the Chinese Ministry of Education’s subject classification. Universities in mainland China are the highest-performing in the world in three out of the 83 subjects: astronomy; aerospace science and technology; and integrated circuit science and engineering.
Eighty-six higher education institutions in the rating are from mainland China. Universities in China attained a total of 534 A+ grades and 33 Chinese universities, including Sun Yat-sen University, Tianjin University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, achieved at least one A+. The three universities in the country with the most A+ grades in different subjects are Zhejiang University, with 72 A+ grades, followed by Tsinghua University with 49 and Peking University with 43.
Overall, mainland China achieved grade B+, which is the same as the United States, Saudi Arabia and France and is a grade higher than South Korea (B) and two higher than Japan (B-). Singapore was the only country to achieve an A+ overall and Denmark, Netherlands and Hong Kong achieved A overall.
In computer science and technology A+ was achieved by 38 US universities, 12 Chinese ones and 8 from the UK. In civil engineering A+ was attained by 31 US universities, 16 Chinese ones and 11 from the UK. In material science and engineering A+ was achieved by 32 US universities, 23 Chinese ones and 10 from the UK.
Phil Baty, Times Higher Education’s, chief global affairs officer, said: “The level of information this rating provides really sets it apart from all other rankings and ratings. The tremendous detail, across 83 subjects, is not only incredibly useful for anyone working or interested in higher education in China, but it also enables universities, and faculties and departments, around the world to compare themselves across key subjects in particular science, technology and engineering ones. The rating also, vitally, places Chinese universities in a global context.
“It never ceases to amaze me, especially as this has been attained in such a short space of time, how well Chinese higher education institutions are doing. In THE’s World University Rankings, for the first time ever, mainland China had two top 15 universities and a record 13 universities in the top 200 – up from seven in 2020 – with each of them improving their ranking significantly.”
The top three destination markets for Chinese students are the US, UK and Australia.
The largest share of universities with broad excellence are in the US (six), followed by Australia (three) and Italy (two). Brazil, Canada, mainland China, France, Portugal and the UK all have one institution in the group.
Just 23 universities managed to receive a grade in all 83 subjects, which included Newcastle University (UK), University of Lisbon (Portugal) and Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) (Brazil). Significantly 17 of those institutions received an average grade between A+ and A- including The University of Queensland (Australia), University of Alberta (Canada) and University of Bologna (Italy).
Universities that are rated in just a few subjects tend to receive a lower average grade. Of the 59 institutions that are rated in three or fewer subjects, 35 received an average grade between C+ and C–, and just three received an A or an A−. None received an A+.
The results suggest that expertise across a broad range of disciplines – rather than focusing efforts on just a few – is key to success in the China Subject Ratings.
Analysis reveals German universities achieved the highest average grade in 28 subjects, making it the top performing country for the second consecutive year. Australia is now in second place, with the top average score in 20 subjects, followed by Netherlands with 9 and the UK with 8. Mainland China is seventh in the country/region table. The analysis excluded nations/regions with fewer than 10 universities in each subject.
Pillar-level analysis
The 83 subjects are grouped into 13 pillars, in line with China’s classification (excluding the military pillar as THE has not rated performance for subjects in this area) to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons, trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry and governments.
Philosophy: Fifteen mainland Chinese universities are rated for philosophy; one of these, Peking University, receives an A. Germany is the top-performing nation for philosophy, achieving an average grade of B+ based on data from 33 of its universities.
Economics: Mainland China receives an average grade of B+ in theoretical economics and B in applied economics. Five institutions in the country achieve the top grade of A+ in both subjects – Fudan, Nanjing, Peking, Tsinghua and Zhejiang universities. Germany achieved the highest average grade for theoretical economics, while the UK is best for applied economics; both countries score an A− in their respective subjects.
Law: Mainland China receives an average grade of B+ in sociology and B in political science. Peking and Tsinghua universities are the only institutions in the nation to receive an A+ in the two areas. The Netherlands is once again the top-performing country for the two law subjects, scoring an A for both political science and sociology.
Education: There are three subjects included under the education pillar – education, physical education and psychology. Of the 19 Chinese institutions rated in the education subject, five receive an A+, while three out of 19 receive an A+ for physical education. Only Peking University gets the top grade for psychology. Australia comes top for the first two (A− in both), while Germany is best for the last (B+).
Literature: Two mainland Chinese institutions achieve an A+ in both subjects: Peking University and Tsinghua University. The UK is the top-performing country for foreign language and literature, achieving an average grade of B+, while the Netherlands achieves the highest rating for media/communications/journalism, with an average grade of A.
History: Mainland China scores an average grade of B, based on data from 13 institutions. Peking University is the top performer, achieving an A+. Australia is again the top-performing nation for world history (the only subject in this pillar), achieving an average grade of B+ based on data from 26 of its universities.
Physical science: There are 13 subjects under the physical science pillar. China achieves the highest average performance for astronomy; just 10 institutions receive a rating for this subject, but half of those get an A+ and only one rates below an A−. Germany comes out top in four of them (physics, geophysics, geology and ecology) while the UK is top for three (geography, atmospheric sciences and systems sciences).
Engineering: There are 35 subjects under the engineering pillar. Mainland China is best for one subject - aerospace science and technology, receiving an average grade of A. Germany is top on average for 14 of them, achieving an average grade of no less than A− in each case, while Australia is top for 13 of them.
Agriculture: There are nine subjects under the agriculture pillar. Few mainland Chinese institutions are rated for agriculture. The most popular subjects in the country are agricultural resources and environment, crop science and plant protection. Zhejiang is the only institution in the nation to receive a rating in all nine subjects; it achieves eight A+ grades, and one A. Germany leads six of them, and the other four are led by the US.
Medical: There are seven subjects under the medical pillar. Mainland China’s best subject in the medical pillar is basic medicine/medical science: 34 institutions in the country are rated in this area and score an average grade of A−. The Netherlands comes out top in three of them: public health and preventive medicine; medical technology; and nursing.
Management: There are five subjects under the management pillar. Mainland China’s top subject in the management pillar is public administration: 12 institutions in the country are rated in this area and score an average grade of A−.
Interdisciplinary: In the one interdisciplinary subject, integrated circuit science and engineering, mainland China tops the table with an average grade of A, based on 27 universities.
View the China Subject Ratings 2024 and find more information about THE's China Subject Ratings methodology here.