Dalhousie has been named one of the best universities in the world for the study of 24 subjects in a ranking released this week.
The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, out Wednesday (March 25), includes data from 1,912 universities — out of 6,277 considered in 166 locations — across 55 narrow subjects and five broad areas. Rankings are based on analysis of reputation and research output.
A total of 51 subjects were analyzed for Dal, with 22 achieving scores high enough to warrant ranking in the top 500. Of these, 17 were included in the top 400, 15 in the top 300, nine in the top 200, and two in the top 100.
Life Sciences & Medicine was Dal’s top-performing broad area, with a placement of 225 overall. Dal achieved another top 300 placement this year in the Natural Sciences, which moved up to 271 from 319 last year. Improvement in the latter was driven by strengths in Citations per Paper and H-Index (a measure that quantifies a researcher's scholarly output and influence).
Learn more about the QS methodoloy.
In Canada, Dal ranked among the top 10 universities in 11 specific subject areas, up from eight last year.
Here's a glance at the global and Canadian ranking for our top 10 individual subject rankings:
Subjects marked with * denotes first year for Dalhousie to be ranked for this subject
Library & Information Management*
Globally: 51-100
In Canada: 5th (tied)
Petroleum Engineering
Globally: 51-100
In Canada: 3rd
Anatomy & Physiology*
Globally: 101-200
In Canada: 10th (tied)
Development Studies
Globally: 101-150
In Canada: 4th (tied)
Geology
Globally: 101-150
In Canada: 5th (tied)
Earth & Marine Sciences
Globally: 151-200
In Canada: 7th (tied)
Geophysics
Globally: 151-200
In Canada: 7th (tied)
Law
Globally: 151-200
In Canada: 7th (tied)
Nursing
Globally: 151-225
In Canada: 11th (tied)
Agriculture & Forestry
Globally: 201-250
In Canada: 9th