The University of Oxford has been named the best in the world for two subjects in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings by Subject for 2025, as stated in a report by the Hindustan Times. Oxford, which has held the top spot in THE’s overall world university rankings for the past nine years, was ranked number one for Medical and Health — a position it has maintained since 2019.
Oxford also retained its top ranking for Computer Science, a position it has held since 2019, and improved its position in Business and Economics, rising from joint fifth in 2024 to second place. Oxford features among the top eight in the 10 subject rankings in which it is represented.
Meanwhile, the University of Cambridge joined Harvard and Stanford as the only universities to feature in the top 10 across all 11 subjects in the rankings. Cambridge's highest placement is second in Arts and Humanities, Computer Science, Life Sciences, and Psychology.
In the field of medicine and health, three other British universities feature in the top 10, following Oxford's lead, with Cambridge in third and Imperial College London retaining its fourth-place ranking from 2024. Imperial also ranks eighth in Computer Science. University College London (UCL) dropped one spot to eighth in Medical and Health, but climbed one place to 10th in education studies, maintaining the same ranking for law.
UCL ranks sixth in Arts and Humanities and moved up from 12th to 10th in Law. The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) improved its standing by one place to enter the top 10 in Business and Economics, although it dropped one place to ninth in Social Sciences. King’s College London saw a significant rise, jumping six places to ninth in Psychology.
US universities dominate the top of the rankings, leading nine of the 11 subject areas. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University rank first in three subjects. Harvard University tops two of the rankings, and the California Institute of Technology leads in physical sciences.
Phil Baty, THE’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, remarked: “While the Western world continues to dominate the subject rankings, this new data release demonstrates the continued rise of China and East Asian nations in the global knowledge economy and a global levelling up of excellence.” Chinese universities now rank in the top 50 across all subjects, with Peking and Tsinghua Universities making the top 10 in both Business and Economics and Education Studies.
