The QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World subject rankings for 2023 have been released, revealing that only 12 public and private universities from Pakistan have made the list. This year’s rankings cover a total of 54 disciplines, grouped into five broad subject areas.
The rankings are designed to help prospective students identify leading universities in a particular subject, and are compiled annually using research citations and the results of global surveys of employers and academics.
The 2023 rankings include three new subjects: data science, history of art, and marketing, which have been evaluated. Notably, six of the 10 most improved programs hosted by institutions in the Arab Region have been included. US institutions lead in 32 subjects, with Harvard University ranking first in 14 subjects.
The University of Oxford dominated four of the top 15 subject tables, while the University of Cambridge dominated two subjects. Australia ranks fourth in the world for impactful research, based on the H-index metric.
Regarding Pakistan, in Engineering & Technology:
- The National University of Science and Technology (NUST) was ranked at 160
- COMSAT University Islamabad at 267
- University of Engineering and Technology (UET) at 279
- Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad at 348
- Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) between 401-450
- University of Punjab was ranked among 501-530
In the subject of Computer Science and Information Systems:
- NUST was ranked at 148
- COMSAT University Islamabad between 251-300
- LUMS, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, and Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad between 351-400
- UET between 401-450
- The University of Punjab among 451-500
Only Agha Khan University Karachi was ranked at 391 in the subject of Life Sciences & Medicine while in the subject of Natural Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad was ranked at 346, COMSAT University Islamabad and NUST were ranked between 451-500.
In the subject of Social Sciences & Management:
- LUMS was ranked at 322
- National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences between 451-500
In the subject of Accounting & Finance:
- LUMS was ranked between 151-200
- COMSATS University between 301-330
In Business & Management Studies:
- LUMS was ranked at 151-200
- NUST between 251-300
- Institute of Business Administration (IBA) between 301-350
- COMSATS University between 401-450
- University of the Punjab between 401-450
- Quaid-i-Azam University between 451-500
- Iqra University between 551-580
In Economics & Econometrics:
- LUMS was ranked between 201-250
- COMSATS University Islamabad between 301-350
- Quaid-i-Azam University between 401-450
- University of the Punjab between 451-500
- IBA between 501-530
- University of Karachi between 501-530
According to the QS World subject rankings for 2023, only two Pakistani universities made the list. LUMS was ranked between 301-350 in the subject of Law & Legal Studies, while Quaid-i-Azam University was ranked between 151-200 in the subject of Statistics & Operational Research.
However, in several subjects, including Arts and Humanities, Marketing, Sociology, Sports-Related Subjects, Anthropology, Communication and Media Studies, Development Studies, Education and Training, Hospitality & Leisure Management, Library & Information Management, Politics, Data Science, History of Art, and Social Policy & Administration, no university from Pakistan was able to make the rankings.
