SINGAPORE – The National University of Singapore (NUS) has again emerged as the top university in Asia based on global rankings by subjects, and is placed among the top three worldwide in seven subjects.
Three Singapore courses also took second place in the prestigious Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2026 released on March 25: NUS’ civil and structural engineering, and materials science, and Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) communication and media studies.
NUS achieved Singapore’s highest-ever rank in mechanical engineering (third), data science and AI (third) and electrical engineering (third), while NTU achieved Singapore’s highest-ever result in communication and media studies (second).
The annual rankings by global higher education analyst QS covered some 1,900 institutions from 100 countries. It analysed more than 21,000 academic programmes in 55 academic disciplines and five broad faculty areas.
Academic reputation, one of the indicators used, was drawn from survey responses by academics, who named institutions which they considered to be excellent in research in a given area. Employers worldwide were also asked to identify institutions they considered excellent for the recruitment of graduates. Other indicators included the average number of citations per paper in a subject to reflect research impact.
Singapore saw 76 out of 117 subjects improve their rankings, making it the world’s most improved higher education system.
Forty-two of Singapore’s subjects were ranked in the global top 10, placing the country third in the world after the US and the UK.
Singapore achieved its highest-ever rank in 13 subjects.
Business, finance, and art and design were among Singapore’s strongest subject areas.
NUS and NTU were placed eighth and 14th in business and management studies, respectively, the same as in 2025. In accounting and finance, they were ranked 10th and 14th respectively, both achieving their top performances ever in this subject, while Singapore Management University (SMU) was placed 50th, up from 64th.
For art and design, NUS was ranked 19th, up from 30th in 2025, while LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore climbed to 67th, up from the 101-150 band last year.
SMU was the world’s most improved university among those with 10 or more ranked entries, with an 80 per cent improvement rate.
Law was its most improved subject, jumping from the 101-150 band to 56th owing to an improvement in academic reputation.
