UNSW adds to tally in global subject rankings
2025-03-13T10:03:00+11:00

This is the ninth year UNSW’s highest-ranking subject, Mineral & Mining Engineering, has placed in the top 10.
Photo: Louise Reily/UNSW
The QS Subject Rankings placed 24 UNSW subjects in the top 50 worldwide, with Mineral & Mining Engineering maintaining its position as the University’s highest-ranking subject.
Forty-five UNSW Sydney subjects have been ranked in the global top 100 in the latest QS Subject Rankings, an increase from 42 last year.
Two UNSW subjects – Mineral and Mining Engineering (ranked 2nd) and Petroleum Engineering (ranked 10th) – were in the global top 10. This year, UNSW has 24 courses in the top 50, up from 19 last year.
Across Australian universities, UNSW placed first for two broad subject areas – Engineering & Technology and Social Sciences & Management. Nine UNSW subjects were considered by QS to be the best in the country – Mineral Engineering, Law, Marketing, Civil Engineering, Accounting, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Business and Mechanical Engineering.
UNSW Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Attila Brungs said he was pleased to see UNSW build on its already strong position in the QS Subject rankings across the University’s faculties.
“This year’s results reaffirm UNSW’s leadership in research and teaching, as well as our commitment to educating graduates who tackle society’s complex challenges,” he said.
“I am proud of these achievements and of our entire community, whose contributions enable us to drive positive change globally and locally.”
UNSW subjects ranked in the top 50
- Engineering – Mineral & Mining Engineering (2)
- Petroleum Engineering (=10)
- Law (12)
- Marketing (=20)
- History of Art (45)
- Accounting & Finance (22)
- Architecture / Built Environment (23)
- Engineering – Civil & Structural (24)
- Materials Science (27)
- Geology (=28)
- Geophysics (31)
- Engineering – Electrical & Electronic (32)
- Psychology (=32)
- Business & Management Studies (=35)
- Earth & Marine Sciences (=37)
- Environmental Sciences (38)
- Economics and Econometrics (40)
- Sports-related Subjects (44)
- Computer Science & Information Systems (=46)
- Engineering – Mechanical, Aeronautical and Mechanical (=46)
- Engineering – Chemical (47)
- Library and Information Management (=47)
- Mathematics (48)
- Chemistry (=49)
Launched in 2011 and published annually, the global QS Subject Rankings are based on academic reputation, employer reputation and research citations. The 2025 league table ranked 5200 institutions across 55 subjects in five broad subject areas.
The rankings aim to help prospective students identify the world’s leading schools in their chosen field, with the list of subjects extended each year in response to high demand for subject-level comparisons.
The full results for 2025 can be found on the .
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Email: julia.holman@unsw.edu.au