LAHORE: Only 13 public and private universities from Pakistan have made it to the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World subject rankings for 2023.

The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023 cover a total of 54 disciplines, grouped into five broad subject areas.

The rankings are compiled annually to help prospective students identify the leading universities in a particular subject. Research citations along with the results of major global surveys of employers and academics are used to rank the universities. More information about this year’s methodology is available. This year’s rankings include three new subjects: data science, history of art, and marketing and they have been evaluated.

The notable features of the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024 include six of the 10 most improved programmes hosted by the institutions in the Arab Region including Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Qatar and Jordan. The US institutions lead in 32 subjects. Among the top-performing institutions include Harvard University that ranks first across 14 subjects — two more than last year’s results.

The University of Oxford dominated four of the top 15 subject tables, including Anatomy and Physiology, Anthropology and English Language and Literature — while the University of Cambridge dominated two subjects, Archaeology and Modern Languages.

The H-index (a metric that measures both the science productivity and impact of published work from an institution) ranks Australia fourth among the most impactful research locations worldwide.

Regarding Pakistan, in Engineering & Technology, the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) was ranked at 160, COMSAT University Islamabad at 267, University of Engineering and Technology (UET) at 279, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad at 348, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) between 401-450 and the University of Punjab was ranked among 501-530.

In the subject of Computer Science and Information Systems, NUST was ranked at 148, COMSAT University Islamabad between 251-300, LUMS, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, and Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad between 351-400, the UET between 401-450 and the University of Punjab among 451-500.

Aga Khan University Karachi was ranked 391 in the subject of Life Sciences & Medicine while in the subject of Natural Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad was ranked at 346, COMSAT University Islamabad and NUST were ranked between 451-500. Dow University was ranked 601-650 in Medicine in the QS World Ranking.

In the subject of Social Sciences & Management: LUMS was ranked at 322 and National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences between 451-500 while in the subject of Accounting & Finance, LUMS was ranked between 151-200 and COMSATS University between 301-330.

In Business & Management Studies, LUMS was ranked at 151-200, NUST between 251-300, Institute of Business Administration (IBA) between 301-350, COMSATS University between 401-450, University of the Punjab between 401-450, Quaid-i-Azam University between 451-500 and Iqra University between 551-580.

In Economics & Econometrics, LUMS was ranked between 201-250, COMSATS University Islamabad between 301-350, Quaid-i-Azam University between 401-450, University of the Punjab between 451-500, IBA between 501-530, and University of Karachi between 501-530.

Only LUMS was ranked between 301-350 in the subject of Law & Legal Studies, while only Quaid-i-Azam University was ranked between 151-200 in the subject of Statistics & Operational Research.

No university from Pakistan could made it to the ranking in several subjects, including Arts and Humanities, Marketing, Sociology, Sports-Related Subjects, Anthropology, Communication and Media Studies, Development Studies, Education and Training, Hospitality & Leisure Management, Library & Information Management, Politics, Data Science, History of Art and Social Policy & Administration.

Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmad told Dawn that the universities appeared in the ranking which shared the data with the QS World Ranking. He said improving ranking was not a big issue but they would have to make the public universities strong in quality. He said the government had invested in universities during the last 20 years and around 30 universities from Pakistan should have been ranked.

Dr Mukhtar said the commission was providing training to the administration of the universities on how to submit their data to the ranking agencies and the situation would become better in the coming days. He said the government also would have to increase the investment in universities to improve the quality of education.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2023