Discover where to study with the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018: Mathematics.Find out more
ETH Zurich is the only university in the top 10 subjects for mathematics not based in either the US or the UK, with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) remaining the best in the world. Further down the table, there is strong representation from Asia with universities from Singapore, Japan and China all featuring in the top 20.
While there is relatively little movement at the top of this year’s ranking compared to last year, there are five universities which break into the top 50. This group includes the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the University of Auckland and UCL (University College London).
The QS World University Rankings by Subject are based upon academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact (click here to read the full methodology).
Use the interactive table below to filter the rankings by location, and click on individual universities for more information. Registered users will also be able to use the site’s Compare function to see facts and statistics about multiple universities side-by-side.
Interested in other courses besides mathematics? The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018 cover 48 different subjects.
Relying upon math experts and enthusiasts to define the subject is likely to lead to a variety of conflicting and wide-ranging answers. Let’s be safe, then, and call upon dictionary solutions to this question. Most non-specialist dictionaries define mathematics by summarizing the main mathematics topics and methods.
The Oxford English Dictionary states that mathematics is an “abstract science which investigates deductively the conclusions implicit in the elementary concepts of spatial and numerical relations, and which includes as its main divisions geometry, arithmetic, and algebra”. The American Heritage Dictionary sums up the subject as the “study of the measurement, properties, and relationships of quantities and sets, using numbers and symbols”.