We have been ranked joint 40th in the prestigious QS World University Rankings by Subject.
About our QS World University Ranking by Subject
The School of Modern Languages and Cultures has risen 22 places in this year’s QS World University Ranking by Subject to joint 40th position. We are extremely delighted and proud to see the excellence of our work recognised by fellow academics and employers from around the world.
More about us
We are one of the UK’s leading centres of education and research in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hispanic, Italian, Japanese and Russian Studies. Interdisciplinarity is at the heart of what we do, and our expertise ranges from the medieval and early period studies through to the contemporary era.
We have particular strengths in visual arts and culture, environmental and medical humanities, textual scholarship, gender and sexuality studies, critical and cultural theory, travel literature, creative writing, and translation studies.
About the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026
The QS World University Rankings by Subject are among the most prestigious global rankings, assessing universities using indicators including academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations and international research collaboration.
The 2026 rankings analysed more than 6,200 institutions worldwide, with 1,900 universities ranked across 55 subjects, producing over 21,000 individual ranking entries.
Durham performs strongly across many subjects
As a University, we have achieved a best-ever 22 subjects in the world top 100, including three in the world top 10, and 10 in the world top 50. Four ‘broad subject’ areas and 17 ‘narrow subjects’ improved their positions compared with last year.
Professor Karen O’Brien, our Vice-Chancellor and Warden, said: “Durham is a world-leading university. The outstanding nature of our teaching and research is reflected in our global rankings success.
“It is particularly pleasing to see a high volume of broad subjects again placed so highly in these most prestigious rankings.
“We have been a world top 100 university every year since 2010. We are The Times and The Sunday Times UK University of the Year 2026.”
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