HASS subjects lead the way in University of Exeter’s QS World Rankings success
Sustained excellence across the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences has helped the University of Exeter to achieve sweeping success in a prestigious global league table.
The 2026 QS World Rankings by Subject saw the University record double-figure improvements across all five broad categories, with Arts and Humanities once again the top-performing area.
Climbing 14 places, Arts and Humanities was ranked joint-76th in this year’s table, while Social Sciences, which is assessed alongside Management, improved 34 places to joint 149th.
At the individual discipline level, four subjects were placed inside the global top 50 – Archaeology (34th), Classics and Ancient History (43rd), English Language & Literature (=44th) and Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies (=48th).
More than 1,700 universities across the world are assessed as part of the QS World Rankings by Subject, with the criteria including student experience, university partnerships, research activity and faculty qualifications.
Across the institution at the discipline level, Exeter improved in 22 of the 39 in which it was ranked, with 10 placed in the global top 50, and 19 in the top 100.
In addition to the four disciplines referenced above, both Performing Arts and Anthropology made notable improvements, climbing into the 51-100 bracket from outside of the top 100. Also improving their positions were Education, Philosophy, and Law and Legal Studies. History, Media Studies, and Modern Languages and Communication all maintained their positions.
At a UK level, Arts and Humanities were 14th, an improvement of three places, while Social Sciences and Management climbed two places to 21st in the country.
For more details and a link to the QS World Rankings by Subject, see the institutional story on the website.
