UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State ranked in 49 out of 55 subjects in the 2026 World University Rankings by Subject, released March 25 by London-based QS, one of the major three international organizations that annually rank academic institutions.
The QS subject rankings are based on academic and employer reputation surveys; research output, sourced from information analytics company Elsevier; and international research network, which examines a university’s sustained international research collaboration.
For 2026, QS ranked more than 1,700 institutions worldwide across 55 subjects in five broad disciplines. Penn State offers programs in 49 of those subjects.
With a strong showing worldwide, the University ranked in the top 25 in four subject areas, in the top 50 in an additional 15 subjects, and in the top 100 in a further 21 subjects.
Top 25 rankings
- Mineral and mining engineering (6)
- Hospitality and leisure management (20)
- Petroleum engineering (21)
- Materials science (24)
Top 50 rankings
- Sports-related subjects (27)
- Communication and media studies (29)
- Earth and marine sciences (31)
- Education (36)
- Geophysics (36)
- Geology (38)
- Marketing (38)
- Agriculture and forestry (39)
- Nursing (40)
- Geography (41)
- Mechanical, aeronautical, and manufacturing engineering (42)
- Archaeology (43)
- Psychology (46)
- English language and literature (47)
- Linguistics (47)
Penn State also showcased its interdisciplinarity, continuing to rank in the top 75 in the world in the broad subject areas of natural sciences; social sciences and management; and engineering and technology.
The release of the 2026 QS subject rankings follows the June 2025 release of the overall 2026 QS World University Rankings, in which Penn State tied at No. 82 in the world, placing the University in the top 6% worldwide among the more than 1,500 institutions ranked by QS.
The QS rankings are considered one of the three most respected international university ranking systems, along with the rankings compiled by Times Higher Education and the Academic Ranking of World Universities.
For more information, contact Richard Spicer, assistant director for Global Outreach, at rks5111@psu.edu.