These are the best universities for every individual subject in 2023

And it’s not just Oxford and Cambridge


If you don’t go to Oxford or Cambridge, let’s face it, looking at university league tables can feel a bit dispiriting.

Year after year, whether it’s the Complete University Guide, The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, in fact whether it’s any newspaper rattling off the best unis in the country, you can guarantee Oxbridge will usually make up the top two.

The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023 is here and finally it offers a bit of variety.

The university league table surveyed 1,597 of the world’s best universities to reveal the top performing institutions for more than 50 different subjects in 2023.

Maintaining its position for the seventh year in a row, Loughborough has been crowned the best university in the world for sports-related subjects. It’s held the title every year since the category’s inception in 2017.

Exeter can also boast being the world’s best university to study mineral and mining engineering. Sussex Uni the top place to study development studies in the world.

However, Oxford and Cambridge continue to perform well. When the QS World University Rankings 2023 were published last June, Cambridge finished second and Oxford were close behind in fourth.

In the newly published subject ranking, Oxford is the best UK university for 22 subjects with Cambridge the leading British university in 13 subjects.

Elsewhere, London universities ranked impressively. LSE, King’s, Imperial and UCL all came out top for at least one subject. The Royal College of Art and The Royal College of Music were the UK’s best universities for art and design, and performing arts respectively.

In total, there are 16 different universities which hold the title for being the UK’s best university for at least one subject – so, a good chance you’ll go to one of them and be able to brag to your mates.

Here’s the full breakdown:

The best universities for every individual subject in 2023

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