Nine Indian Institutions Among World's Top 50 in QS Subject Rankings

In a significant achievement for India's higher education sector, nine Indian institutions have secured positions among the world’s top 50 universities in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) subject-specific rankings released on Wednesday.

The rankings cover 55 subjects across five broad categories—Arts & Humanities, Engineering & Technology, Life Sciences & Medicine, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences & Management. This year, 79 Indian institutions were ranked among the world’s top 550 universities, an increase from 69 last year.

According to QS, Indian universities made 533 appearances in this year’s rankings, reflecting a 25.7% increase from the previous edition. This includes 454 entries in individual subject rankings and 79 appearances across the five broad faculty areas.

The highest-ranking Indian institution was IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, securing the 20th position in Engineering-Mineral and Mining with an overall score of 74.7 out of 100. This marks a remarkable improvement from its 41st rank last year.

Commenting on the achievement, Sukumar Mishra, Director of IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, stated, "This improvement underscores our unwavering commitment to academic rigor and research excellence. We aim to build on this success and achieve even greater milestones in the future."

Other notable rankings in Engineering-Mineral and Mining include IIT Bombay (28th) and IIT Kharagpur (45th), though both saw a drop from their previous positions of 25th and 28th, respectively.

In Engineering & Technology, IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay secured the 26th and 28th ranks, respectively, marking a significant improvement from last year’s joint 45th position. IIT Delhi emerged as India’s top-ranked engineering institution.

The other Indian institutions in the top 100 for this category were:

IIT Madras (53rd)
IIT Kharagpur (60th)
IIT Kanpur (72nd)
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru (84th)

"For several years, IIT Delhi has focused on strengthening international collaborations, undertaking 410 research projects with leading global institutions between 2018 and 2024. This has helped bolster our international research network," said Vivek Buwa, Dean of Planning at IIT Delhi.

Performance Across Other Disciplines

In Business & Management Studies, IIM Ahmedabad (27th) and IIM Bangalore (40th) were India's top-ranked institutions, though both saw their positions decline from 22nd and 32nd last year. A total of nine Indian institutions made it to the top 100.

In Arts & Humanities, University of Delhi (160th) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (177th) were the highest-ranked Indian institutions. However, no Indian university secured a spot in the top 100.

In Life Sciences & Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi ranked 226th, improving from 249th last year.

In Natural Sciences, IISc Bengaluru led the category for India, rising to 109th from 137th last year. However, no Indian institution featured in the top 100.

In Social Sciences & Management, IIT Delhi secured the highest ranking among Indian institutions, improving from 108th last year. Three Indian universities made it to the top 100 in this category.

India’s Rising Presence in Global Rankings

QS evaluates academic programs based on five key indicators: academic reputation (40%), employer reputation (30%), citations per paper (10%), H-index (10%), and international research network (10%). The H-index measures both the productivity and impact of published work.

India ranked fifth globally in terms of new entries in the rankings, trailing behind China, the US, the UK, and South Korea. In overall entries, India stood 12th, improving significantly from last year’s ranking of 69th with 454 entries.

"The high number of new entries reflects India's expanding higher education ecosystem, both in terms of size and quality," QS stated.