THE Rankings 2026: How did Indian Universities fare in the World Subject Rankings? See the complete list

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2026 have been released. The US and UK continue to dominate these rankings, while India's presence remains limited this year as well.  Find out the reasons.

Times Higher Education (THE) has released its World University Rankings by Subject 2026, which assesses universities worldwide based on their performance in various subjects. This year, the US and UK maintained their dominance, while universities from Asia, such as China, Singapore, and Japan, showed a strong presence. For India, this ranking once again presents an opportunity for introspection, as its presence in the top 100 was extremely limited.

India's Performance: Limited Presence Raises Big Questions

In the THE 2026 Subject Rankings, only the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, managed to secure a place in the top 100.  Significantly, IISc achieved this ranking in a crucial and rapidly growing field like Computer Science. Apart from this, no other Indian university could make it to the top 100 in any subject. This ranking clearly indicates that while India does not lack talent or institutions, to achieve top global rankings, it needs to further strengthen the quality of research, international collaboration, and industry engagement. Only with continuous and substantial improvements in these areas will Indian universities be able to secure a permanent place in the world's top rankings.

Looking specifically at Computer Science, after IISc, Amity University was ranked in the 251–300 range, and Jamia Millia Islamia in the 301–400 range.

Why is India lagging behind in research and international impact? According to the report, Indian universities lag behind China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea on key parameters such as research quality, high-impact publications, and international citations. Although India has improved in research output and international collaboration in recent years, this progress is not yet strong enough to consistently secure a place in the top 50 or top 20. Experts believe that limited funding, a lack of industry-academia collaboration, and low participation in global research networks affect India's ranking.

US and UK dominance continues.

The 2026 rankings clearly show the dominance of the US and the UK. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been ranked as the world's most influential institution. MIT secured the top spot in all three subjects: Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, and Social Sciences. US universities topped 8 out of 11 subjects, while the UK secured first place in 3 subjects, including Psychology. Cambridge University achieved the number one position in Psychology for the first time since 2022.

China's rise, changing landscape of Asia

China's performance in this year's rankings has been exceptionally strong. China secured a total of 7 places within the top 10 across all subjects, a significant jump compared to last year. Peking University made it to the top 10 in Computer Science for the first time, while Tsinghua University entered the top 10 in Physics. This indicates that the center of research and innovation in Asia is rapidly shifting.

How are the rankings determined?

The THE rankings are based on 18 indicators across 11 subjects. These include parameters such as teaching quality, research, research citations, international outlook, and industry income, the combined scores of which determine the final ranking. Top 10 Universities of 2026

Oxford University (UK)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT (USA)
Princeton University (USA)
Cambridge University (UK)
Harvard University (USA)
Stanford University (USA)
California Institute of Technology – Caltech (USA)
Imperial College London (UK)
University of California, Berkeley (USA)
Yale University (USA)