31 University of Leeds subjects are in the global top 100, according to new world rankings

The annual QS World University Rankings have been released for 2025, revealing the best universities around the world for specific departments and subjects.

This year, the rankings consist of 55 individual subjects across five subject areas: Arts and Humanities, Engineering and Technology, Life Sciences and Medicine, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and Management.

Overall, University of Leeds has placed joint 82nd with Australia’s University of Adelaide in the 2025 QS World Ranking, dropping seven places from last year. The rankings assess over 1,500 institutions, positioning Leeds seven places above Durham University and 22 places above the University of St Andrews.

University of Leeds received a total score of 70.5 out of 100 for Academic Reputation and 75.9 for Employer Reputation.

It scored extremely highly amongst a range of subjects with 31 being in the top 100, and 14 being in the top 50.

However, how did you uni degree score? Let’s break it down.

Arts and Humanities

University of Leeds ranked 54th globally for this department and in joint eighth place with LSE out of the UK universities.

For singular subjects, the following were ranked in the top 100: English Language and literature at 36th, philosophy at 41st, modern languages at 62nd, and linguistics at 81st.

Theology, divinity and religious studies, history, and performing arts were in the 51st to 100th bracket this year.

Engineering and Technology

Engineering and technology placed 92nd in the world rankings and a successful seventh place in the UK.

Within this, petroleum engineering ranked 22nd while mineral and mining ranked 38th. However, chemical engineering placed further down the list at 84th, and civil and structural engineering placed at an ambiguous 51st to 100th.

Life Sciences and Medicine

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University of Leeds ranked 97th in the world for this group of subjects and 16th out of the UK universities.

The most successful subject within this group was anatomy and physiology, placing 37th globally. Agriculture and forestry was ranked 82nd whilst medicine was placed at 96th.

Nursing is also a top 100 subject, placing 51st to 100th.

Natural Sciences

Leeds’ Natural Sciences group was placed at 105th in the QS World Rankings, but eighth in the UK.

Within this group, geophysics ranked the highest at 14th place while geology, earth and marine sciences, and geography came in at 15th, 20th and 23rd respectively.

Environmental sciences was placed at 59th.

Social Sciences and Management

The department as a whole was ranked at 82nd and placed 11th in the UK.

For singular subjects, the following were ranked in the top 100: Development studies at 22nd, communication and media studies at 33rd and marketing at 35th.

Sociology placed 81st globally whilst politics was ranked at 83rd and education and training at 89th.

The following subjects were ranked 51st to 100th globally: Statistics and operational research, sports-related subjects, social policy and administration, and hospitality and leisure management.

University of Leeds’ overall Academic and Employer Reputation has remained consistent since last year’s results, increasing by 0.2 points in Academic Reputation and dropping only 0.8 points in Employer Reputation.