ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, an independent organisation dedicated to studying and researching higher education, has once again announced the results of the 2018 edition of Shanghai’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS). The list features 15 academic disciplines available at the Jagiellonian University, with pharmaceutical sciences standing out among them.

GRAS is an international ranking of higher education institutions based on 54 academic areas grouped into 5 categories: natural sciences, social sciences, medical sciences, life sciences, and engineering. The ranking takes into account the number of publications as well as citation index, participation in international publications, the number of papers published in important journals and presented on conferences, and the number of staff awarded with significant prizes.

This year, the ranking featured over 4,000 higher education institutions from around the world. American universities have proven to be the best overall, taking first place in 35 out of 54 scientific disciplines. They are followed by China (9) and the Netherlands (3).

Harvard University is the unquestionable leader of the ranking, being the first in 17 disciplines – 9 in social sciences, 4 in medical sciences, and 2 in both life sciences and engineering. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is listed as second, leading in 5 disciplines. Additionally, the University of Pennsylvania, University of Colorado, Wageningen University and Research Centre, and Nanyang Technological University came first in more than one subject.

The Jagiellonian University’s position in the ranking has improved in comparison to the previous edition. It was classified in 15 academic disciplines. The most significant changes are visible in the pharmaceutical sciences, which advanced from positions 201–300 to 51–75, and mathematics, moving from positions 201–300 to 151–200. Other academic disciplines include:

• clinical medicine (201–300 from 301–400)
• health sciences (201–300)
• physics (201–300, no changes)
• instruments science and technology (201–300)
• ecology (201–300, no changes)
• medical technology (201–300)
• chemistry (301–400, no changes)
• nanoscience and nanotechnology (301–400)
• biological sciences (301–400 from 401–500)
• human biology (301–400 from 401–500)
• psychology (301–400)
• biotechnology (401–500)
• agricultural sciences (401–500, no changes)

The complete results of GRAS 2018 can be found at shanghairanking.com.