Lingnan University is gaining ongoing recognition in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025, with more subjects being ranked, reinforcing its growing academic presence on the global stage.This year, the University has twice as many subjects recognised, increasing from five to ten, with new disciplines—Communication and Media Studies, Sociology, Modern Languages, Education and Training, and Business and Management Studies—being included. While some of the University's latest advancements have yet to be reflected in this round of rankings, these achievements reaffirm Lingnan's dedication to advancing teaching and research. With a strong commitment to integrating digital-age knowledge and innovation, the University continues to prepare for new heights in the future.
The five subjects listed last year are Social Policy and Administration, Philosophy, English Language and Literature, Arts and Humanities, and Economics and Econometrics. They are included again this year, and highlight Lingnan’s traditional strengths in the academic fields of Arts and Humanities, Business and Social Sciences.
The academic subjects and research areas that have shown significant progress in the latest rankings include:
- Social Policy and Administration: 3rd in Hong Kong; 8th in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan; and 14th in Asia.
- Philosophy: 2nd in Hong Kong; 12th in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan; and 18th in Asia.
- English Language and Literature: 15th in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
- Communication and Media Studies: 19th in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science of Lingnan University, expressed his appreciation for Lingnan University’s ongoing recognition, stating “Lingnan University aspires to become a leading comprehensive university in arts and sciences in the digital era. We have been actively promoting knowledge transfer to convert research outcomes into real-world applications. Over the past year, the University has established the School of Data Science and the Lingnan University Institute for Advanced Study (LUIAS), integrating artificial intelligence into various programmes and research areas. Additionally, Lingnan is among the first to provide all faculty and students free access to various versions of ChatGPT and DeepSeek, empowering students to ride the transformations brought about by the global technological wave. Although the recent strides made by the University have not been included in this round of rankings, the University is pleased that twice as many subjects achieving recognition on the global higher education platform, preparing for new heights in the future.”
Prof Raymond Chan Hon-fu, Vice-President (Academics) cum Provost and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Scientific Computing, said, “Lingnan University is proud to see its academic excellence recognised in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025. The inclusion of five new subjects this year—Communication and Media Studies, Sociology, Modern Languages, Education and Training, and Business and Management Studies—demonstrates our dedication to the best teaching and research. Our results reflect the collective efforts of our faculty and students in advancing Lingnan’s reputation globally.”
The QS World University Rankings by Subject is an internationally recognised benchmark for higher education institutions. It provides an independent comparative analysis of the performance of over 18,300 individual academic programmes offered by over 1,700 universities worldwide. The rankings evaluate five key performance indicators: Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, Citations per Paper, H-index (measuring both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scholar), and International Research Network (by broad-faculty area).
