World University Rankings 2023 by subject: social sciences

The social sciences subject table uses the same trusted and rigorous performance indicators as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023, but the methodology has been recalibrated to suit the individual fields.

It highlights the universities that are leading across the following disciplines: communication and media studies, politics and international studies (including development studies), sociology and geography.

This year’s table includes 941 universities, up from 870 last year.

View the World University Rankings 2023 by subject: social sciences methodology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has returned to the top spot after dropping to second last year.

The top 10 is comprised entirely of universities in the US and the UK. The highest ranked institution outside those two countries is the Netherlands’ University of Amsterdam, at 16th.

The top 100 includes just one university in its debut year – the University of Surrey, UK, in 98th place. There are two other newcomers in the top 200: Germany’s Leuphana University of Lüneburg, and Macau University of Science and Technology, China, both in the 176-200 band.

Read our analysis of the subject rankings 2023 results

View the full results of the overall World University Rankings 2023

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