The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is among the world’s best for academic and research excellence across numerous subject areas, according to the 2021 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject released on March 3. These rankings are examples of UH Mānoa’s goals of Excellence in Research: Advancing the Research and Creative Work Enterprise (PDF) and Enhancing Student Success (PDF), two of four goals identified in the 2015–25 Strategic Plan (PDF), updated in December 2020.
After being ranked No. 62 nationally and No. 333 out of more than 26,000 colleges and universities worldwide (or the top 2%) in QS’s latest World University Rankings released in June 2020, UH Mānoa was ranked in the top 50 in the world in four narrow subject areas: geology (No. 24 worldwide, No. 15 U.S.), geophysics (No. 26 worldwide, No. 16 U.S.), linguistics (No. 28 worldwide, No. 11 U.S.) and earth and marine sciences (No. 34 worldwide, No. 18 U.S.).
UH Mānoa also received the following broad subject area rankings:
- Arts and Humanities: No. 172 worldwide, No. 43 U.S.
- Natural Sciences: No. 203 worldwide, No. 49 U.S.
- Social Sciences and Management: No. 401–450 range worldwide, No. 78 U.S.
- Life Sciences and Medicine: No. 401–450 range worldwide, No. 113 U.S.
United Kingdom-based QS is considered one of the most prestigious ranking entities in higher education. QS selected 1,453 institutions to evaluate out of more than 26,000 colleges and universities for its 2021 World University Rankings by Subject using four factors: academic and employer reputation, number of research citations per paper and the h-index, which measures the productivity and impact of published work.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the contribution of a world-class university to a brighter future for Hawaiʻi. The QS rankings affirm UH Mānoa’s resilience and commitment to excellence in a wide range of disciplines,” UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno said. “The world is undergoing dramatic and in many ways permanent change as a result of the pandemic, and I believe that our graduates will be among those helping to shape it for the better thanks to the strong education our world-class faculty provide.”
Other rankings
UH Mānoa has also received these notable rankings:
- Elite international rankings in 2021 Times Higher Education World University Rankings by subject
- High national ranking in U.S. News and World Report 2021 Best Colleges rankings
- UH Mānoa in top 1% of worldwide universities by the 2021 Times Higher Education World University Rankings
For a full list of QS subject rankings and for more information, visit the Mānoa Institutional Research Office website.
—By Marc Arakaki
