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Social Sciences & Management
Communication & Media Studies Ranking
QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026
51 universities
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| Rank | Change | University | Country | Score | Academic | Employer | Citations | H | IRN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Amsterdam | Netherlands | 96.8 | 100.0 | 70.8 | 98.5 | 100.0 | — | |
| 2 | 2 | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) | Singapore | 91.1 | 90.7 | 82.7 | 95.2 | 92.1 | — |
| 3 | 1 | Harvard University | United States of America | 89.0 | 90.8 | 100.0 | 85.3 | 82.8 | — |
| 4 | 1 | University of Texas at Austin | United States of America | 88.4 | 91.0 | 72.0 | 89.2 | 89.5 | — |
| 5 | Stanford University | United States of America | 88.1 | 89.1 | 94.9 | 88.4 | 82.0 | — | |
| 6 | The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) | United Kingdom | 87.5 | 87.7 | 84.7 | 93.3 | 82.4 | — | |
| 7 | 1 | University of Pennsylvania | United States of America | 86.5 | 85.8 | 82.0 | 91.2 | 85.7 | — |
| 8 | 1 | University of Southern California | United States of America | 86.4 | 91.8 | 64.3 | 87.0 | 83.2 | — |
| 9 | Columbia University | United States of America | 85.7 | 87.8 | 84.3 | 88.1 | 78.9 | — | |
| 10 | 4 | National University of Singapore (NUS) | Singapore | 85.1 | 86.8 | 87.4 | 85.1 | 79.8 | — |
| 10 | 3 | New York University (NYU) | United States of America | 85.1 | 90.0 | 82.2 | 81.8 | 77.4 | — |
| 12 | 2 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom | 84.9 | 89.8 | 96.2 | 76.1 | 75.8 | — |
| 13 | 2 | University of Vienna | Austria | 84.7 | 82.8 | 58.5 | 94.8 | 92.4 | — |
| 14 | 3 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | United States of America | 84.1 | 88.6 | 86.1 | 81.9 | 74.1 | — |
| 15 | 2 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | United States of America | 83.7 | 85.2 | 56.4 | 89.2 | 88.0 | — |
| 16 | 4 | The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) | Hong Kong SAR, China | 83.2 | 83.2 | 71.5 | 89.5 | 82.8 | — |
| 17 | 3 | Cornell University | United States of America | 83.1 | 79.7 | 80.1 | 92.2 | 83.9 | — |
| 18 | 4 | Goldsmiths, University of London | United Kingdom | 82.8 | 90.4 | 47.6 | 89.7 | 74.7 | — |
| 19 | 14 | Queensland University of Technology (QUT) | Australia | 82.7 | 79.5 | 58.1 | 97.6 | 88.3 | — |
| 19 | 1 | King's College London | United Kingdom | 82.7 | 84.4 | 77.1 | 83.4 | 80.7 | — |
| 21 | 8 | University of Toronto | Canada | 82.6 | 82.5 | 83.3 | 81.8 | 83.2 | — |
| 22 | 17 | The University of Melbourne | Australia | 82.5 | 82.9 | 79.3 | 82.1 | 83.6 | — |
| 23 | 7 | Michigan State University | United States of America | 82.2 | 79.9 | 60.9 | 92.3 | 88.3 | — |
| 24 | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München | Germany | 82.1 | 78.1 | 70.0 | 91.7 | 88.3 | — | |
| 25 | 4 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | United States of America | 81.7 | 86.8 | 83.2 | 77.5 | 72.3 | — |
| 26 | 3 | Northwestern University | United States of America | 81.5 | 76.8 | 71.7 | 92.4 | 87.4 | — |
| 27 | 5 | University of Zurich | Switzerland | 81.4 | 74.4 | 63.9 | 97.2 | 91.9 | — |
| 28 | The University of Sydney | Australia | 81.3 | 80.2 | 76.4 | 84.4 | 83.6 | — | |
| 29 | 8 | Pennsylvania State University | United States of America | 81.1 | 77.3 | 70.6 | 88.7 | 88.0 | — |
| 30 | 3 | Yale University | United States of America | 80.9 | 84.9 | 90.2 | 78.2 | 68.7 | — |
| 30 | Freie Universitaet Berlin | Germany | 80.9 | 82.6 | 61.9 | 84.9 | 82.0 | — | |
| 32 | 14 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | United States of America | 80.8 | 79.0 | 70.6 | 86.7 | 84.3 | — |
| 32 | 7 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | United States of America | 80.8 | 78.2 | 94.8 | 93.1 | 67.9 | — |
| 34 | 1 | University of Leeds | United Kingdom | 80.6 | 83.1 | 70.9 | 80.5 | 79.4 | — |
| 35 | 2 | UCL | United Kingdom | 80.4 | 79.1 | 80.8 | 81.7 | 82.0 | — |
| 36 | 4 | The University of Edinburgh | United Kingdom | 79.9 | 81.6 | 77.4 | 79.1 | 77.9 | — |
| 37 | 13 | Cardiff University | United Kingdom | 79.8 | 78.9 | 62.5 | 89.9 | 80.7 | — |
| 38 | 13 | Seoul National University | Republic of Korea | 79.2 | 78.8 | 77.8 | 81.4 | 78.9 | — |
| 38 | 4 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | United States of America | 79.2 | 77.3 | 65.8 | 86.8 | 83.2 | — |
| 40 | 11 | Monash University | Australia | 79.0 | 75.9 | 75.0 | 85.1 | 82.4 | — |
| 41 | 11 | The Ohio State University | United States of America | 78.9 | 75.0 | 59.7 | 93.8 | 83.2 | — |
| 42 | 2 | University of British Columbia | Canada | 78.4 | 76.1 | 80.5 | 83.3 | 78.4 | — |
| 43 | 3 | University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) | United States of America | 78.3 | 79.5 | 54.2 | 85.9 | 79.8 | — |
| 44 | 7 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | United States of America | 78.1 | 75.5 | 62.8 | 88.1 | 82.0 | — |
| 45 | 6 | Complutense University of Madrid | Spain | 78.0 | 79.6 | 69.1 | 75.2 | 81.2 | — |
| 46 | 11 | Yonsei University | Republic of Korea | 77.8 | 78.5 | 73.5 | 83.9 | 72.3 | — |
| 47 | 12 | Peking University | China (Mainland) | 77.7 | 75.5 | 83.8 | 84.7 | 72.9 | — |
| 48 | 3 | Hong Kong Baptist University | Hong Kong SAR, China | 77.5 | 76.1 | 54.0 | 89.7 | 80.7 | — |
| 49 | 1 | City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) | Hong Kong SAR, China | 77.4 | 74.4 | 66.8 | 89.3 | 78.4 | — |
| 49 | 6 | Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) | Chile | 77.4 | 76.8 | 79.9 | 81.6 | 73.5 | — |
| 2026 | 1 | INSTITUTION | COUNTRY/TERRITORY | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1
University of Amsterdam
Netherlands
96.8·Acad: 100.0·Empl: 70.8
22
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore)
Singapore
91.1·Acad: 90.7·Empl: 82.7
31
Harvard University
United States of America
89.0·Acad: 90.8·Empl: 100.0
41
University of Texas at Austin
United States of America
88.4·Acad: 91.0·Empl: 72.0
5
Stanford University
United States of America
88.1·Acad: 89.1·Empl: 94.9
6
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
United Kingdom
87.5·Acad: 87.7·Empl: 84.7
71
University of Pennsylvania
United States of America
86.5·Acad: 85.8·Empl: 82.0
81
University of Southern California
United States of America
86.4·Acad: 91.8·Empl: 64.3
9
Columbia University
United States of America
85.7·Acad: 87.8·Empl: 84.3
104
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore
85.1·Acad: 86.8·Empl: 87.4
103
New York University (NYU)
United States of America
85.1·Acad: 90.0·Empl: 82.2
122
University of Cambridge
United Kingdom
84.9·Acad: 89.8·Empl: 96.2
132
University of Vienna
Austria
84.7·Acad: 82.8·Empl: 58.5
143
University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
United States of America
84.1·Acad: 88.6·Empl: 86.1
152
University of Wisconsin-Madison
United States of America
83.7·Acad: 85.2·Empl: 56.4
164
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
Hong Kong SAR, China
83.2·Acad: 83.2·Empl: 71.5
173
Cornell University
United States of America
83.1·Acad: 79.7·Empl: 80.1
184
Goldsmiths, University of London
United Kingdom
82.8·Acad: 90.4·Empl: 47.6
1914
Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
Australia
82.7·Acad: 79.5·Empl: 58.1
191
King's College London
United Kingdom
82.7·Acad: 84.4·Empl: 77.1
218
University of Toronto
Canada
82.6·Acad: 82.5·Empl: 83.3
2217
The University of Melbourne
Australia
82.5·Acad: 82.9·Empl: 79.3
237
Michigan State University
United States of America
82.2·Acad: 79.9·Empl: 60.9
24
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Germany
82.1·Acad: 78.1·Empl: 70.0
254
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
United States of America
81.7·Acad: 86.8·Empl: 83.2
263
Northwestern University
United States of America
81.5·Acad: 76.8·Empl: 71.7
275
University of Zurich
Switzerland
81.4·Acad: 74.4·Empl: 63.9
28
The University of Sydney
Australia
81.3·Acad: 80.2·Empl: 76.4
298
Pennsylvania State University
United States of America
81.1·Acad: 77.3·Empl: 70.6
303
Yale University
United States of America
80.9·Acad: 84.9·Empl: 90.2
30
Freie Universitaet Berlin
Germany
80.9·Acad: 82.6·Empl: 61.9
3214
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
United States of America
80.8·Acad: 79.0·Empl: 70.6
327
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
United States of America
80.8·Acad: 78.2·Empl: 94.8
341
University of Leeds
United Kingdom
80.6·Acad: 83.1·Empl: 70.9
352
UCL
United Kingdom
80.4·Acad: 79.1·Empl: 80.8
364
The University of Edinburgh
United Kingdom
79.9·Acad: 81.6·Empl: 77.4
3713
Cardiff University
United Kingdom
79.8·Acad: 78.9·Empl: 62.5
3813
Seoul National University
Republic of Korea
79.2·Acad: 78.8·Empl: 77.8
384
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
United States of America
79.2·Acad: 77.3·Empl: 65.8
4011
Monash University
Australia
79.0·Acad: 75.9·Empl: 75.0
4111
The Ohio State University
United States of America
78.9·Acad: 75.0·Empl: 59.7
422
University of British Columbia
Canada
78.4·Acad: 76.1·Empl: 80.5
433
University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)
United States of America
78.3·Acad: 79.5·Empl: 54.2
447
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
United States of America
78.1·Acad: 75.5·Empl: 62.8
456
Complutense University of Madrid
Spain
78.0·Acad: 79.6·Empl: 69.1
4611
Yonsei University
Republic of Korea
77.8·Acad: 78.5·Empl: 73.5
4712
Peking University
China (Mainland)
77.7·Acad: 75.5·Empl: 83.8
483
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong SAR, China
77.5·Acad: 76.1·Empl: 54.0
491
City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK)
Hong Kong SAR, China
77.4·Acad: 74.4·Empl: 66.8
496
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC)
Chile
77.4·Acad: 76.8·Empl: 79.9
20261
INSTITUTION
COUNTRY/TERRITORY
—·Acad: —·Empl: —