Development Studies 2nd in the world in the QS World University Rankings

6 April 2022

SOAS University of London has once again featured amongst the world’s elite institutions in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022. This year, Development Studies has continued to rise and is now ranked 2nd in the world (and in the UK). Development Studies has improved its ranking year on year since 2019 (ranking 5th in 2021, 6th in 2020, 8th in 2019).

Top global ranking subjects also include Anthropology which has risen to equal top 10 (16th in 2021) and Politics which has risen to rank 15 (21st in 2021).

Other notable subject rankings where SOAS is ranked in the top 100 in the world include History, English Language & Literature, Linguistics, Modern Languages, Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies and Sociology.

Development studies, Anthropology, Politics, Linguistics and Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies also ranked among the UK’s top 10. A further 11 other subjects also ranked among the top 50 in the UK.

For Academic Reputation, Development Studies was also ranked 2nd in the world and Politics was ranked 3rd.

Professor Zoë Marriage, Head of Development Studies, said:

“This is fantastic news for the department. It is a recognition of the achievements of colleagues, and of our students who apply their learning to diverse academic and professional contexts.

The whole department has responded not only to the immediate difficulties of teaching and researching through covid restrictions, but also to the intellectual, political and ethical challenges that have been posed by the global pandemic. Development Studies has never been so urgent and so long-term as it is now; congratulations to everyone on keeping the questions alive and keeping the answers coming.”

For more information, visit the QS World University Rankings website.

Read more about SOAS’s 2021 rankings.