Art history leads in 12th place globally, followed by dentistry in 15th and mining engineering in 24th
The (University of São Paulo) had 11 courses ranked among the 50 best in the world in 2026. The British consultancy released the survey on Wednesday (25.mar.2026). The São Paulo institution appeared among the best global universities in 51 of the 55 specific areas evaluated.
Here is how the courses mentioned in the ranking looked:
- art history – 12th position globally;
- dentistry – 15th;
- mining engineering – 24th;
- anthropology – 25th;
- library and information management – 28th;
- petroleum engineering – 29th;
- agriculture and forestry – 32nd;
- medicine and pharmacy and pharmacology – 43rd (tie);
- architecture – 48th;
- sociology – 50th.
The university achieved rankings between 51st and 100th in 32 specific areas. Another 8 areas were among the 150 best in the world.
PERFORMANCE IN LARGE AREAS
The 55 courses evaluated are organized into 5 major areas. USP was among the 100 best universities in the world in all these categories. Life sciences and medicine gave the institution 49th position. Social science and administration ranked 64th. Arts and humanities reached 69th place. Engineering and technology ranked 74th. Natural sciences ranked 75th.
The 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject analyzed more than 21,000 subject areas from more than 1,900 institutions in 100 countries. The survey evaluated more than 18,300 university courses around the world. Approximately 1,700 institutions had courses classified into 55 specific areas and 5 broad areas.
BRAZIL LEADS IN LATIN AMERICA
The ranking analyzed 382 areas from 31 Brazilian institutions. This number represents the highest in Latin America. Brazil holds the highest number of entries in the region’s top 100. The country expanded its representation in the top 50 to 18 disciplines. The previous edition registered 16 Brazilian disciplines among the 50 best.
Quacquarelli Symonds has been publishing the ranking since 2013. The British organization specializes in research on higher education institutions. The assessment uses 5 indicators: academic reputation, reputation among employers, scientific citations, H index and internationalization. These criteria were adapted according to each specific area.
The weighting of each metric varies depending on the area evaluated. The aim is to reflect the different publishing cultures across disciplines. Search performance is based on bibliometric database analysis.
The H index in research works as an indicator of institutional solidity. This indicator has different weight depending on the nature of each area. In medicine, an area that heavily depends on the dissemination of research, the H index is considered a stronger indicator of institutional solidity. In the performing arts, whose nature is more professional, the indicator has less weight.
The (Universidade Estadual Paulista) had 4 areas of knowledge among the 100 best in the world in the QS World University Rankings by Subject. Dentistry was the best placed area at Unesp, occupying 38th position in the ranking. Agricultural sciences appeared in 99th position.
Sports sciences and veterinary medicine occupied the range between 50th and 100th position. Unesp had 10 courses among the 200 best. The total number of areas among the top 300 places reached 23.
The QS World University Rankings by Subject takes a different approach to most publications that compare universities. The ranking carries out the evaluation by specific areas of knowledge and also by broad areas. The methodology mainly uses reputation criteria as a reference. This data is obtained through the application of questionnaires to employers and academics. The survey also considers the scientific production of institutions. Information about scientific production is available on Elsevier’s Scopus platform.
Additional data on the ranking can be obtained on the USP website (Academic Performance Indicator Management Office).
This text was originally published by at 12:31 pm on March 26, 2026 and adapted for publication by Poder360.
