QS Rankings by Subject, the University of Bologna's record: first place in Italy in 18 subject areas

Eighteen firsts, one more than last year. In the new edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject, which assesses the standing of universities by subject areas, the University of Bologna is the Italian university with the highest number of national firsts.

The University of Bologna is in first place in Italy for: Agriculture & Forestry; Anatomy & Physiology; Anthropology; Chemistry; Communication & Media Studies; Dentistry; Earth & Marine Science; Education; Geography; Geology; Geophysics; Law; Linguistics; Modern Languages; Sport-related Subjects; Statistics & Operational Research; Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies.

The University of Bologna is also among the top 50 universities in the world for six subjects, two more than last year: Classics & Ancient History (19^th place); Archaeology (28^th place); Modern Languages (38^th place); Law (41^st place); Veterinary Science (47^th place); History (47^th place). It is also ranked between 51 and 100 in 22 subjects and between 101 and 200 in 18 subjects.

Overall, the University of Bologna is listed with 46 subjects, two more than last year, (English Language & Literature and Art & Design) and improves its ranking in 14 subjects, demonstrating its widespread high quality and multidisciplinary spirit. Among the most notable results, the Psychology sector moves up by 23 places, the Linguistics sector by 11 places, and both Classics & Ancient History and Archaeology by 6 places.

If we consider the five broad subject areas of the ranking system, the University is in the top 100 universities in the world for Arts & Humanities (50^th place), Social Sciences & Management (64^th place), Natural Sciences (96^th place), Engineering & Technology (100^th place) and Life Sciences & Medicine (110^th place).

“It gives enormous satisfaction to see such significant results assigned to the University of Bologna, although we are aware that any ranking only captures certain aspects of a complex higher education system and a public mega-university like ours," commented Rector Giovanni Molari. “This ranking once again confirms the high quality in all areas of knowledge that characterises our University and is the result of intensive work by our entire community, both in teaching and research.”

The QS World University Rankings by Subject uses data collected for the QS Global Ranking, published in June 2023. For each of the ranked disciplines and the five macro-areas, the score assigned to each university is the result of the different weighting of five indicators: Academic Reputation Survey; Employer Reputation Survey; Citations per Paper; H-Index; IRN - International Research Network (publications with international co-authors).