Although Australian universities are still highly ranked in ShanghaiRanking’s global subject index, there are indications that Australia's research endeavours are not having the same growth (both in volume and quality) and impact it had a few years ago.
ShanghaiRanking released its ninth consecutive edition of its ever-expanding subject rankings on November 18. The Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) contains rankings across 57 subject areas, up by two from last year, and covers around 2,000 institutions across 92 countries.
Overall, 40 Australian universities have a published ranking for at least one subject. The number of listings by Australian universities increased by 29 to 895 this year – the highest ever.
This year’s results are also a further sign that the landscape of knowledge production is rapidly changing. Liberal economies like Australia are not keeping pace with the global trendsetters in middle income countries, particularly in Asia.
Most listings
Unsurprisingly, the group of five research intensive universities have the most listings. Both Queensland and Melbourne have 52 listings each, followed by UNSW (51), Sydney (50), and Monash (48).
The new Adelaide University is listed with 42, followed by UTS and Deakin (both with 39 listings).
Top 10
Australia has 19 entries across 11 universities among the world's top 10. Monash has the most with 4: Mining & Mineral Engineering; Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Science; Education; and Business Administration.
Then five universities have two entries each: Griffith, with Nursing and Hospitality & Tourism Management; Queensland, with Ecology and Environmental Science & Engineering; Sydney, with Transportation Science & Technology and Nursing; UNSW with Telecommunications Engineering and Energy Science & Engineering; and UTS with in Artificial Intelligence and Nursing.
Four more universities have one entry each: Curtin, with Mining & Mineral Engineering; RMIT with Business Administration; Swinburne with Automation & Control; and Melbourne with Geography.
Top 50
The number of subjects ranked in the world’s top 50 increased by 1 from 2024 to 157.
Of these, 35.7% are in Engineering (up from 34.6% last year), 28.0% are in the Social Sciences (down from 30.1% last year), and 19.1% are in the Medical Sciences (up from 17.3% last year).
Once again, 26 Australian universities have one or more subject listing, with Melbourne, UNSW, Monash, Queensland and Sydney having the most (between 17 and 22), followed by UWA, UTS, and Deakin (between 4 and 6 listings each).
Top 100
Over the past seven years, the proportion of subjects ranked in the world’s top 100 have ranged from a low of 34.1% to a high of 37.0%. In 2025, there are 322 subject listings (or 36.0%) in the top 100, 22 more than last year (or 34.6%).
Of these, 40.4% are in Engineering (up from 39% last year) and 28.0% are in Social Sciences (up from 26.7% last year).
This year, 30 Australian universities have one or more subject listing in the top 100, with UNSW having the most (39 or 76% of its total listings), followed by Melbourne and Queensland (both with 36 each). UNSW also has the highest proportion of its listings in the world’s top 100, followed by Queensland and Melbourne (both at 69.2%), and then Sydney at 68.0%.
New subject listings
Artificial Intelligence is a new subject listing. Two Australian universities are listed and UTS is Australia’s highest ranked at 8, followed by Sydney at 47. Overall, six universities are ranked in the top 100 and another seven in the 101-200 band.
Robotic Science & Engineering is the other new subject listing, with three Australian universities ranked. QUT and UTS are ranked in the 51-75 band followed by Monash in the 76-100 band.
Methodology
This ranking includes nine indicators, of which four debuted last year. The ranking uses data from various sources including Clarivate’s InCites and the Highly Cited Researchers List. The ranking aims to draw attention to researchers’ endeavours and reinforces the hegemonic nature of academic life. This is not a ranking that is attracting the attention of students.
Parting thoughts
Over the five past five years, Australian universities have made modest gains in the total number of entries, but these are not among the world’s top 50 and top 100. Australian universities listings across bands remains relatively unchanged over the past five years.
The results of ShanghaiRanking cannot be observed in isolation from the other global rankings and supporting evidence. All global rankings need to be contextualised and factor in both institutional settings and the policy environment.
Back in March, I noted that Australian universities’ performance in QS Subject Rankings remained relatively strong despite the weakening performance seen in recent times. Results from the various subject rankings tend to reflect the amazing work researchers undertake to making a difference and contributing to addressing societal challenges.
If there is a desire to improve, it is necessary to develop tailored and multifaceted interventions. It’s easier to make substantial gains when institutions are at the lower level of the ranking pile, and it becomes difficult to comprehend gains when institutions rank higher.
Angel Calderon is Director, Strategic Insights at RMIT University.