Seven disciplines in the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences have been ranked in the top 25 in the world according to the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject.

ANU was ranked in the top 10 in the world, and number 1 in Australia for politics and international studies (7), history (9) and development studies (10).

Ranked in the top 25 were modern languages (24), linguistics (16), sociology (16) and English languages and literature (25).

“The latest rankings show that our disciplines are on par with some of the world’s oldest and best universities,” said College Dean Professor Toni Makkai.

“It is a testament to the quality of research by academics in the college, who are global leaders in the humanities, arts and social sciences disciplines.”

Overall, ANU was rated in the top 10 in the world in four subjects, more than any other Australian university. A further 10 ANU subjects rated in the top 25 in the world.

ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Young AO congratulated ANU staff.

“Rankings can be an inexact science and ratings can fluctuate, but the latest global subject rankings show ANU continues to lead the way for Australian university education and research,” said Professor Young.

“ANU is committed to national and international excellence and measures the quality of its education and research against the best in the world.”

Nationally, ANU topped the Australian rankings in nine subjects.

The QS World University Rankings examined 36 disciplines at almost 900 universities around the world. They considered the opinion of more than 85,000 academics and analysed 17.3 million research papers.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) led the global subject rankings in 11 subjects, followed by Harvard University with 10 top subjects.