QS World University Rankings - Subject Methodology

QS World University Rankings by Subject: The QS World University Rankings by Subject ranks the world's top universities in five individual subject areas. They publish rankings for a total of 51 subjects. These rankings are published annually for assisting future students in recognising the best universities around the world for different subjects. The institutes are ranked on the basis of research citations and feedback obtained through international surveys of academics as well as employers.

However, we are going to look at:

• QS World University Rankings for Accounting & Finance
• QS World University Rankings for Engineering & Technology

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QS World University Rankings - By Subject Parameters

The QS University Rankings by Subject methodology ranks the quality of subjects in each university taking into consideration four parameters. The parameters are as follows, Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, Research Citations per Paper, H-index and International Research Network (by broad faculty area).

	Accounting & Finance	Engineering & Technology
Parameters
Academic Reputation	50%	40%
Employer Reputation	30%	30%
Research Citations per Paper	10%	15%
H-index	10%	15%
International Research Network (by broad faculty area)	-	-

Now let us know about the parameters in detail

Academic Reputation

The Academic Reputation is derived from the QS Global Survey of Academics which was instituted in 2004. Here academicians worldwide are required to identify the countries, regions, and faculty areas they are most familiar with and identify subject areas in which these education institutions have expertise in. As per the conditions laid down, they are not eligible to select their own institution. Their response is further condensed to arrive at a definite conclusion. Last year (2022) more than 130,000 academics across the world responded to the QS World University Rankings by Subject.

Employer Reputation

Here employers are required to identify multiple domestic and international institutions they consider most viable for the recruitment of graduates. They are also asked to mention the subject area they are most likely to recruit from. Responses are taken into account to measure excellence in this discipline. Last year (2022) around 75,000 graduate employers across the world responded to the QS World University Rankings by Subject.

Research citations per paper

Here research papers done for every subject are taken into computation over a specific time frame. However, the data for the research citation per paper is sourced from the Scopus, over a five-year period.

H-index

Introduced in 2013, the ‘h-index’ based score takes into account the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar. This takes into calculation an individual, preferably an academic’s most cited papers and the number of citations that they have received in other publications.

This is a very modest understanding of the methodology of the QS University Rankings by Subject for our readers. Students who are looking for an in-depth analysis can always refer to the official website or get in touch with us in the comments below for further guidance.

International Research Network (IRN) 

This parameter was introducted in the year 2022. It reviews how institutions have been able to increase the geography of their international research network through setting up sustainable research partnerships with the rest of the institutes of higher education.

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