We have achieved a best-ever 22 subjects in the world top 100 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026.
This achievement marks a new high for Durham, surpassing last year's previous best of 21 subjects in the world top 100.
This year’s results include three subjects in the world top 10, and 10 subjects in the world top 50, underlining our growing international reputation for teaching and research excellence.
We also saw notable year-on-year progress, with four 'broad subject’ areas and 17 ‘narrow subjects’ improving their positions compared with last year.
Among our standout subjects is Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies, ranked fourth in the world, making it the University’s highest-placed subject.
Archaeology also performed exceptionally well, ranking fifth globally, while Geography rose five places to sixth in the world, reflecting the strength and impact of Durham’s research communities in each field.
The results reflect our sustained commitment to world-leading teaching, impactful research, and international collaboration.
We continue to excel particularly in Arts and Humanities, where we are ranked joint 31st globally.
Durham also achieved a strong result in Social Sciences and Management, where we are placed joint 78th in the world, highlighting the quality of programmes in areas such as law, education, and politics.
In science, Psychology moved up to 70th and Physics and Astronomy to joint 67th. Mathematics, Computer Science and Information Systems, Engineering and Technology also enhanced their rankings, and the broad subject area of Natural Sciences entered the world top 100.
Other subjects placed in the global top 50 were: Anthropology (joint 25th), English Language and Literature (26th), Classics and Ancient History (joint 29th), Philosophy (joint 39th), Modern Languages (joint 40th), History (44th), and Law (joint 49th).
Durham’s wider strength is also reflected in top 100 positions for subjects including Accounting and Finance (joint 58th), Education (joint 66th), Physics and Astronomy (joint 67th), Psychology (70th), and Politics and International Studies (joint 79th).
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.
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.
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