Beijing universities lead rankings of top academic subjects in China

Higher education consultancy ShanghaiRanking released the 2025 edition of the Top Academic Subjects in China on Wednesday. Peking University and Tsinghua University top the list with 28 and 22 top subjects, respectively. Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University tie for third with 15, followed by Zhejiang University with 13 and Renmin University of China with 11.

Top academic subjects are those in the top 3 percent nationwide or among the top two, while first-class subjects rank in the top 7 percent to 12 percent. A total of 336 subject areas from 114 universities were recognized as top Chinese subjects.

The rankings cover 98 first-level disciplines and five professional degree categories, featuring the top 50 percent of universities with graduate programs. A total of 5,344 subject areas from 517 universities are listed.

Sun Yat-sen University and Zhejiang University lead in the number of subjects listed, with 63 and 61, respectively. Tsinghua University has 58 subjects on the list, followed by Jilin University with 57, and Sichuan University with 56. Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Wuhan University each have 55 subjects, Shandong University has 53, and Peking University follows with 52.

This year, four new disciplines were added: Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, Forensic Science, Intelligent Science and Technology, and Regional and Country Studies.

Rankings for five arts-related professional degree categories were also introduced, including Music, Dance, Drama and Film, Traditional Opera and Folk Art, and Fine Arts and Calligraphy.

Beijing leads the rankings with 51 universities and 597 subjects, including 120 top subjects and 47 champions. It also has 276 first-class subjects, highlighting its strong academic performance.

ShanghaiRanking began publishing these rankings in 2017, using classifications from the Graduate Education Discipline Professional Catalog (2022) issued by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council and the Ministry of Education.