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THE World University Rankings by Subject: the university’s positioning and the methodology

The University of Bologna’s positioning in the Times Higher Education ranking of scientific subjects.

Results of the 2025 ranking at a glance

  • Law: 38th place
  • Arts and Humanities: 43rd place tied
  • Business and Economics: 92nd place tied
  • Computer Science: 94th place 
  • Medical and Health: between 101st and 125th
  • Social Sciences: between 126th and 150th
  • Psychology: between 151st and 175th 
  • Education Studies: between 176th and 200th 
  • Life Sciences: between 176th and 200th 
  • Physical Sciences: between 201st and 250th 
  • Engineering: between 251st and 300th 

Methodology 

Indicators and number of universities analysed

There are approximately 2000 universities analysed worldwide and they are classified according to 11 subjects.

Indicators

Indicator Indicator description Weighting
Research Quality

Citation impact

Research strength

Research excellence

Research influence

 The weighting of the indicator varies according to subject
Industry

Research income from industry

Patents

 The weighting of the indicator varies according to subject
International outlook

Ratio of international to national academic staff

Proportion of publications with at least one international co-author

Ratio of international to national students

 The weighting of the indicator varies according to subject
Research environment

Average number of Scopus-indexed articles per academic staff member

Research income

Research reputation

 The weighting of the indicator varies according to subject
Teaching

Ratio of PhD graduates to first-level degree graduates

Ratio of PhD graduates to academic staff

Teaching reputation

Teaching income

Student-staff ratio

 The weighting of the indicator varies according to subject

Subjects and positioning

Subject Positioning
Law 38th out of 389
Arts and Humanities  43rd place tied out of750
Business and Economics  92nd place tied out of 990
Computer Science  94th out of 1122
Medical and Health  between 101st and 125th out of 1150
Social Sciences  between 126th and 150th out of 1093
Psychology  between 151st and 175th out of 654
Education Studies  between 176th and 200th out of 767
Life Sciences  between 176th and 200th out of 1143
Physical Sciences between 201st and 250th out of 1147
Engineering  between 251st and 300th out of 1488

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