QS

Chemistry 2021

QS World University Rankings · · Methodology · Source: QS World University Rankings official website · Editorial Standards

Ranks universities globally for research output and academic impact in chemistry.

QS is the only major ranking system that weights employer reputation at 15%, with academic and employer reputation together accounting for nearly half the total score.

How does Chemistry evaluate universities?

Chemistry, published by QS World University Rankings, evaluates universities worldwide using key indicators such as Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, each assigned a distinct weight according to a publicly documented methodology. Data sources combine academic peer reviews, employer surveys, bibliometric databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, and institutional self-reported statistics, all independently verified by the publisher's research team. The 2021 edition assessed 617 universities from 14 countries and regions, covering teaching quality, research output, internationalization, and graduate employability across undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs. QS World University Rankings recollects raw data annually and cross-checks results to ensure the rankings reflect each institution's most current performance in faculty strength, scholarly productivity, global reach, and student outcomes, providing a reliable reference for prospective students, parents, and education researchers.

Which are the top universities in Chemistry 2021?

The top universities in Chemistry 2021 are: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, University of California, Berkeley. This edition, published by QS World University Rankings, evaluated 617 universities from 14 countries and regions using indicators such as Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation. Rankings reflect weighted performance across multiple dimensions; students should consider methodology differences and their own academic priorities when interpreting results.

How does Chemistry differ from other ranking systems?

QS World University Rankings, published by Quacquarelli Symonds since 2004, are defined by their heavy emphasis on reputation surveys: academic reputation (30%) and employer reputation (15%) together account for nearly half of the total score, directly reflecting how scholars and employers worldwide perceive each institution. Additional indicators include faculty/student ratio (10%), citations per faculty (20%), international faculty (5%), international students (5%), plus newer dimensions such as sustainability and employment outcomes. In contrast, THE emphasizes teaching environment and research quality, ARWU relies entirely on objective research output (Nobel Prizes, publications), and US News focuses on research reputation and citation impact. QS is therefore particularly useful for applicants concerned with institutional prestige, graduate employability, and cross-border recognition.

Current edition: published 2021-03
No results found
🇦🇷 Argentina
🇦🇺 Australia
🇦🇹 Austria
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇧🇷 Brazil
🇨🇦 Canada
🇨🇱 Chile
🇨🇳 China
🇨🇴 Colombia
🇭🇷 Croatia
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
🇩🇰 Denmark
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇪🇪 Estonia
🇫🇮 Finland
🇫🇷 France
🇩🇪 Germany
🇬🇷 Greece
🇭🇰 Hong Kong
🇭🇺 Hungary
🇮🇳 India
🇮🇷 Iran
🇮🇪 Ireland
🇮🇱 Israel
🇮🇹 Italy
🇯🇵 Japan
🇯🇴 Jordan
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
🇱🇧 Lebanon
🇲🇾 Malaysia
🇲🇽 Mexico
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇳🇿 New Zealand
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🇵🇰 Pakistan
🇵🇱 Poland
🇵🇹 Portugal
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico
🇶🇦 Qatar
🇷🇴 Romania
🇷🇺 Russia
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
🇷🇸 Serbia
🇸🇬 Singapore
🇸🇮 Slovenia
🇿🇦 South Africa
🇰🇷 South Korea
🇪🇸 Spain
🇸🇪 Sweden
🇨🇭 Switzerland
🇹🇼 Taiwan
🇹🇭 Thailand
🇹🇷 Turkey
🇺🇦 Ukraine
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States
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Total 617 universities

Per page

10
20
50
100
University
Country
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology logo Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 🇺🇸 United States 97.0 100.0 98.1
2 Stanford University logo Stanford University (SU) 🇺🇸 United States 96.1 95.1 94.2
3 Harvard University logo Harvard University 🇺🇸 United States 95.7 98.1 100.0
4 University of Cambridge logo University of Cambridge 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 95.4 98.8 96.7
5 University of California, Berkeley logo University of California, Berkeley (UCB) 🇺🇸 United States 94.4 96.8 89.4
6 University of Oxford logo University of Oxford 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 94.0 97.8 96.1
7 National University of Singapore logo National University of Singapore (NUS) 🇸🇬 Singapore 93.3 92.4 92.9
8 Nanyang Technological University logo Nanyang Technological University (NTU) 🇸🇬 Singapore 92.3 87.8 87.9
9 ETH Zurich logo ETH Zurich 🇨🇭 Switzerland 90.5 93.2 90.7
10 EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne logo EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne 🇨🇭 Switzerland 90.3 90.3 85.5
11 California Institute of Technology logo California Institute of Technology (CIT) 🇺🇸 United States 90.2 93.1 90.1
12 Imperial College London logo Imperial College London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 88.2 89.0 88.8
13 The University of Tokyo logo The University of Tokyo (UT) 🇯🇵 Japan 88.0 91.9 88.1
14 Northwestern University logo Northwestern University (NU) 🇺🇸 United States 87.9 91.1 71.0
15 = Peking University logo Peking University (PKU) 🇨🇳 China 87.8 85.8 83.1
15 = University of California, Los Angeles logo University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) 🇺🇸 United States 87.8 87.2 86.7
17 Tsinghua University logo Tsinghua University (THU) 🇨🇳 China 87.2 84.5 84.3
18 Yale University logo Yale University 🇺🇸 United States 86.0 83.8 87.2
19 University of Toronto logo University of Toronto 🇨🇦 Canada 85.9 84.9 83.8
20 Kyoto University logo Kyoto University 🇯🇵 Japan 85.5 86.1 83.7
21 University of Texas at Austin logo University of Texas at Austin 🇺🇸 United States 83.5 79.4 74.2
22 Zhejiang University logo Zhejiang University (ZJU) 🇨🇳 China 83.0 77.5 79.9
23 Fudan University logo Fudan University 🇨🇳 China 82.9 79.1 76.3
24 KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology logo KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology 🇰🇷 South Korea 82.8 82.5 80.1
25 Princeton University logo Princeton University 🇺🇸 United States 82.6 79.6 78.0
26 University of Michigan logo University of Michigan (UM) 🇺🇸 United States 82.5 78.6 78.4
27 University of Manchester logo University of Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 82.4 83.2 73.5
28 = Georgia Institute of Technology logo Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) 🇺🇸 United States 82.3 79.6 78.8
28 = Tokyo Institute of Technology logo Tokyo Institute of Technology (東工大) 🇯🇵 Japan 82.3 86.4 86.3
30 Technical University of Munich logo Technical University of Munich (TUM) 🇩🇪 Germany 81.9 85.9 74.9
31 = Seoul National University logo Seoul National University (SNU) 🇰🇷 South Korea 81.7 83.2 83.0
31 = Hong Kong University of Science and Technology logo Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 81.7 78.5 74.5
33 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign logo University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) 🇺🇸 United States 81.5 80.7 73.3
34 = University of Chicago logo University of Chicago (UC) 🇺🇸 United States 81.2 77.1 73.8
34 = University of Wisconsin–Madison logo University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW) 🇺🇸 United States 81.2 77.3 76.4
36 = Monash University logo Monash University 🇦🇺 Australia 81.0 79.9 74.3
36 = The University of Osaka logo The University of Osaka 🇯🇵 Japan 81.0 80.2 82.5
38 University of British Columbia logo University of British Columbia (UBC) 🇨🇦 Canada 80.7 80.1 82.5
39 University College London logo University College London (UCL) 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 80.6 80.4 75.0
40 University of Science and Technology of China logo University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) 🇨🇳 China 80.5 74.1 69.3
41 Cornell University logo Cornell University (CU) 🇺🇸 United States 79.8 76.5 76.8
42 = Columbia University logo Columbia University (CU) 🇺🇸 United States 79.7 77.6 71.1
42 = Nanjing University logo Nanjing University (NJU) 🇨🇳 China 79.7 73.2 66.8
44 Shanghai Jiao Tong University logo Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) 🇨🇳 China 79.6 76.0 78.4
45 University of Pennsylvania logo University of Pennsylvania 🇺🇸 United States 79.4 75.8 75.3
46 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München logo Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) 🇩🇪 Germany 79.3 82.5 69.6
47 The University of Melbourne logo The University of Melbourne 🇦🇺 Australia 79.2 78.0 78.3
48 Université de Strasbourg Université de Strasbourg 🇫🇷 France 79.1 84.6 61.8
49 KU Leuven logo KU Leuven (KUL) 🇧🇪 Belgium 79.0 75.1 79.2
50 Delft University of Technology logo Delft University of Technology 🇳🇱 Netherlands 78.9 76.0 82.4