Record year for UCD with five subjects in global top 50 in QS World University Rankings by Subjects
25 March 2026
-
The University now has 18 subjects listed in the top 100
Five subjects at University College Dublin are now ranked among the world’s top 50, marking the University’s strongest-ever showing in the (opens in a new window)QS World University Rankings by Subject.
Alongside these top-performing subjects, 13 others were named as part of the top 100 in the 2026 listings.
Those five named among the global top 50 are Library & Information Management (40), English Language & Literature (41), Nursing (41), Petroleum Engineering (44), and Veterinary Science (44).
The 13 subjects ranked in the top 100 include Agriculture & Forestry, Archaeology, Communication & Media Studies, Education, Geography, History, Law, Performing Arts, Philosophy, Politics & International Studies, Social Policy & Administration, Sociology, and Sports-related Subjects.
Overall UCD is ranked in 43 narrow subjects, with 15 subject entries for 2026 improving on last year, while a further 20 remaining stable.
The University recorded a new entry in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, ranking in the 101–200 band. This represents the first Data Science entry for Ireland to be included in the rankings.
Top 50 subject rankings for UCD
- Library & Information Management
- English Language & Literature
- Nursing
- Petroleum Engineering
- Veterinary Science
Top 51 - 100 subject rankings for UCD
- Agriculture & Forestry
- Archaeology
- Communication & Media Studies
- Education
- Geography
- History
- Law
- Performing Arts
- Philosophy
- Politics & International Studies
- Social Policy & Administration
- Sociology
- Sports-related Subjects
The figures for 2026 also showed a positive trend across all five broad QS subject areas with Arts & Humanities remaining the university’s highest-performing discipline grouping.
Across the board, Ireland has 196 programmes ranked among 11 institutions. Of these, 56 climbed the table, 45 dropped, and 85 remained unchanged.
The QS World University Rankings by Subject assess universities based on five key metrics, including academic reputation, employer reputation, research impact and international collaboration.
For the 2026 Subject Rankings, QS benchmarked more than 21,000 academic programmes across 1,900 universities in over 100 countries.
“Irish higher education institutions continue to excel in this year’s QS World University Rankings by Subject. In addition to further improving in important areas such as Nursing and Education, Ireland sees its first entries in Data Science, Anthropology and Music,” said Ben Sowter, Senior Vice President of QS.
Globally, US universities lead the rankings with 37 top ranked subjects, with Harvard University remaining the world’s strongest-performing institution.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
