According to annual QS World University Subject Rankings, New Zealand universities sit high, with the University of Auckland leading the pack.
Kiwi universities ranked in the top 50 institutions for 22 subjects, and in the top 100 in 39 subjects, an overall decline from last year.
Collectively, New Zealand’s eight universities improved in 24 subject rankings and dropped in 55 subjects.
Chris Whelan, the executive director of Universities New Zealand said that in spite of the drop, there was still a lot to be proud of.
“These are outstanding results for a country with 8 universities being evaluated against 4430 other universities from around the world,” Whelan said.
“They reflect the high regard in which our universities’ teaching and research is held across a wide range of disciplines,” Whelan said.
He said that the reason of decline was a consequence of low institutional funding levels by international standards.
“If we want the universities to continue to rise in the subject rankings, and so give our students even better educational experiences, the nation will have to be prepared to invest in them,” Whelan said.
This time QS World University Rankings by Subject compares academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations and impact.
As stated above, the University of Auckland was announced the best in New Zealand in each of the faculty rankings, including 25th in the world in Arts and Humanities.
Its business school was once again ranked as the best university in New Zealand for taking studies in accounting and finance, commercial law, business and management, property, economics.
“We are pleased to see our status as New Zealand’s leading business school reinforced in these subject rankings,” said Professor Jayne Godfrey, the business school’s Dean.
“The rankings are underpinned by the talent and hard work of our staff and our students.”
The QS Rankings by Subject results were based on survey responses from more than 305,000 academics and 194,000 employers.
