Korean Schools Combine For 11 Top 25 Placements In Qs World Subject Rankings, But Fall In Many Disciplines

 
Three Korean universities — Seoul National University, Yonsei University and Korea National University of Arts — had a combined 11 entries in the top 25 of the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, though no school in Korea managed to place in the top 10.
 
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) released its QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 on Wednesday, which evaluated 1,900 universities across a wide range of subject areas. The subject rankings cover five areas: arts and humanities; engineering and technology; life sciences and medicine; natural sciences; and social sciences and management. These five broad areas encompass 55 disciplines, each with its own individual ranking.
 
 
A total of 47 universities from Korea were featured in the subject rankings this year, totaling 576 entries across subject rankings.
 
Seoul National University achieved the highest discipline placement for a Korean university, placing 11th globally in social policy and administration. However, that represented a drop from last year's 8th place ranking.
 
 
The university also landed within the top 25 in eight more disciplines including chemical engineering, where it ranked 13th, down from last year's 11th. It also placed 14th in modern languages, up from last year's 19th place. For linguistics, it placed 18th, edging down from 17th place last year.
 
Yonsei University is another school with subjects areas in the top 25. It placed 14th in social policy and administration, though that is down significantly from last year's 6th ranking in the discipline.
 
While Seoul National University and Yonsei University both placed in the top 10 for social policy and administration last year — marking Korea’s second-ever top 10 rankings in individual disciplines — both dropped out of that range this year, leaving Korea without a university in the top 10 in any discipline this year.
 
Korea National University of Arts did make the top 25, placing 21st in performing arts, though that too represents a drop, six spots lower than last year's 19th ranking.
 
“Korea has an ambitious strategy to enhance its higher education landscape as it increasingly appeals internationally as a study destination,” said Ben Sowter, senior vice president of QS in a press release. “The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, however, show that competition globally continues to rise.”
 
“While Korean institutions ranked within the top 10 in social policy in 2025, this year heightened international competition has seen changes among the top-ranked entries. Korea, which was crowned home to the best student city in the world by QS in 2025, has seen institutions improve in broad faculty areas such as Arts & Humanities and Engineering & Technology, while eight institutions now feature in the top 100 for modern languages, up from six last year.”
 
QS uses five indicators to compile the subject rankings: academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per paper, international research network and what they call H-Index, which measures productivity and the impact of scholars' published works.
 
KAIST was not part of this year's list, as they have been excluded from QS's rankings from June 2025 through June 2026. This decision was due to a controversial incident, when a KAIST professor emailed professors abroad, saying that those participating in an academic reputation survey used in the QS rankings would receive a gift certificate.
 
 
Arts and humanities
 
In the overall arts and humanities category, which covers 13 disciplines, Seoul National University was the highest-ranked Korean institution at 59th, up from 63rd last year.
 
Yonsei University followed at 75th, rising from 107th last year. Korea University placed 96th, up from 114th.
 
Looking into individual disciplines, linguistics remains one area where many Korean universities continue to get high marks.
 
Seoul National University was again the highest-ranked Korean institution in linguistics at 18th, slipping slightly from 17th last year. Other schools, however, saw much more precipitous on-year declines: Korea University placed 56th, down from 25th; Yonsei University followed at 58th, down from 30th; Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) placed 60th, down from 44th; and Hanyang University placed 85th, down from 71st.
 
The modern languages discipline is another strength, with many Korean schools climbing the list.
 
Seoul National University placed 14th, up from 19th last year. Yonsei University followed at 26th, up from 33rd, and Korea University placed 29th, up from 36th. HUFS placed 46th, up from 95th.
 
Sogang University placed 86th, rising from its last year's placement in the 101st to 150th range. Hanyang University placed 88th, down from 85th, and Sungkyunkwan University placed 89th, down from 77th. Kyung Hee University was the last to place within the top 100 at 92nd, up from last year's placement in the 101st to 150th range. 
 
 
Engineering and technology
 
In the engineering and technology category, covering eight disciplines, Seoul National University topped Korean universities at 24th, up from 38th last year.
 
Korea University and Pohang University of Science and Technology (Postech) were tied as the second-highest ranked Korean universities in the category, at 67th, with Korea University rising from 89th last year and Postech from 83rd.
 
Many Korean Universities were also featured in the chemical engineering discipline, with Seoul National University ranked in 13th place, although that is down from last year's 11th.
 
Korea University placed 51st, up from 57th, and Yonsei University ranked 56th, down from 46th. Postech placed 57th, slightly down from last year's 53rd. Hanyang University placed 91st, a major slide from last year's 68th.
 
For electrical and electronics engineering, Seoul National University placed 28th, up from 33rd last year, and Yonsei University followed at 58th, up from 60th. Korea University ranked 68th, down from 57th, while Postech placed 73rd, edging down from 72nd.
 
 
Life sciences and medicine
 
In life sciences and medicine, covering nine disciplines, Seoul National University again ranked highest among Korean institutions. The school placed 36th, up from 38th last year. Yonsei University came 73rd, down from 66th, and Korea University ranked 138th, up from 144th.
 
While Seoul National University tends to place the highest among Korean universities for many rankings, the disciplines in life sciences and medicine did also feature some exceptions.
 
In nursing, Yonsei University was the highest-ranked Korean university at 33rd, up from 37th last year. It was then followed by Seoul National University, Chung-Ang University, Ewha Womans University and The Catholic University of Korea, all of which sat in the 51st to 100th range. The Catholic University of Korea rose from its placement in the 101st to 150th range last year, with the other three universities maintaining their ranks.
 
Yonsei University also tops the dentistry discipline among Korean universities by placing 43rd, though that represented a major a slip from 31st last year. Seoul National University then followed in the 51st to 150th range, down from 46th last year.
 
 
Natural sciences
 
In natural sciences, covering nine disciplines, Seoul National University was the highest-ranked Korean institution at 35th, down from 34th last year. Postech ranked 64th, down from 60th, and Korea University placed 87th, up from 108th.
 
The materials sciences discipline also had many Korean universities in the top 100, with Seoul National University placing 20th, slightly down from last year's 19th.
 
Postech was next at 26th, down from 24th, and Yonsei ranked 39th, down from 35th. Korea University placed 53rd, down from 49th, and Hanyang University placed 67th, down from 57th. Sungkyunkwan University ranked 70th, falling from 49th last year.
 
In the chemistry discipline, Seoul National University ranked 20th, the same placement as last year. Postech followed at 58th, down from last year's 48th place. Korea University ranked 61st, edging down from 60th, and Yonsei University was 62nd, down from 55th.
 
 
Social sciences and management
 
In the social sciences and management rankings, covering 16 disciplines, Seoul National University topped Korean universities at 34th, up from 41st last year. Korea University followed at 51st, up from 64th, and Korea University placed 53rd, up from 59th.
 
For business and management, Seoul National University ranked 49th, down from last year's 40th. It was closely followed by Korea University at 50th, down from 42nd, and Yonsei University at 51st, a big drop from last year's 34th.
 
In economics and econometrics, Seoul National University placed 45th, down from 38th. Yonsei University followed at 74th, down from 50th. Korea University placed 90th, sliding from 46th last year.
 

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]