LAHORE: Twenty-seven Pakistani public and private universities secured rankings across various disciplines in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025.

The rankings by subject were released on Wednesday, providing an analysis of over 18,300 academic programmes in 1,700 universities across 100 locations worldwide.

Pakistan’s educational institutions have shown a mixed performance, with some universities making notable strides and others facing challenges in maintaining their positions. Most Pakistani universities fall within the 351-1000 range, with a few exceptions in niche fields like Nuclear Engineering (PIEAS ranks 101-150). Approximately more than 50 universities from Pakistan applied for the QS Subject Rankings 2025 and 27 of them secured rankings within the top 1,000 universities globally in various subjects.

These universities were evaluated in 55 subject areas spanning five broad fields, including arts and humanities, engineering and technology, life sciences and medicine, natural sciences, and social sciences and management.

The universities that secured subject-specific rankings are National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in the subjects of Computer Science & Information Systems: 351-400, Electrical & Electronic Engineering: 301-350, Mechanical Engineering: 401-450 and Mathematics: 451-500; Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) Islamabad in Physics & Astronomy: 401-450, Chemistry: 451-500, Biological Sciences: 501-550 and Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in Business and Management Studies: 301-350, Economics & Econometrics: 351-400 and University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore - Civil & Structural Engineering: 401-450 and Electrical & Electronic Engineering: 451-500; Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) in Nuclear Engineering: 101-150 (top-performing subject for Pakistan) and Physics & Astronomy: 451-500; University of the Punjab in Environmental Sciences: 501-550 and Chemistry: 551-600; COMSATS University Islamabad in Computer Science & Information Systems: 451-500 and Electrical & Electronic Engineering: 501-550; Aga Khan University in Medicine: 301-350 and Life Sciences & Medicine: 351-400; University of Karachi in Chemistry: 551-600 and Biological Sciences: 601-650; Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi in Business and Management Studies: 401-450, and Accounting & Finance: 451-500; University of Agriculture, Faisalabad in Agriculture & Forestry: 551-600; Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan in Chemistry; 601-650, Government College University (GCU) Lahore in Chemistry: 601-650; International Islamic University Islamabad in Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies: 501-550; University of Peshawar in Agriculture & Forestry: 601-650; University of Sindh in Chemistry: 601-650; University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) in Veterinary Science: 501-550; Air University Islamabad in Computer Science & Information Systems: 601-650; Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI) in Electrical & Electronic Engineering: 551-600; Dow University of Health Sciences in Medicine: 501-550; King Edward Medical University in Medicine: 551-600; NED University of Engineering and Technology in Civil & Structural Engineering: 551-600; University of Management and Technology (UMT) in Business & Management Studies: 551-600; University of Health Sciences Lahore in Medicine: 601-650; University of Balochistan in Agriculture & Forestry: 651-700, University of Sargodha in Chemistry: 651-700 and University of Gujrat in Computer Science & Information Systems: 651-700.

The top performing subjects of Pakistani universities include Nuclear Engineering: PIEAS (101-150), Medicine: Aga Khan University (301-350), Computer Science: NUST (351-400), Business & Management: LUMS (301-350) while most ranked fields include Engineering and Technology (e.g., Computer Science, Electrical Engineering), Natural Sciences (e.g., Chemistry, Physics) and Life Sciences and Medicine (e.g., Medicine, Veterinary Science).

A vice chancellor of a public sector university, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn that limited financial resources and infrastructure were hindering the ability of Pakistani institutions to compete globally and there was an urgent need to increase investment in research and faculty development. He said international collaboration should be strengthened with top global universities to enhance research output and academic reputation.

He stressed that emerging fields/disciplines like Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, and Renewable Energy should be focused to offer opportunities for Pakistani universities to carve out a niche in the global academic landscape. He added that there was a need for a strategic approach and Pakistan’s universities had the potential to excel but they needed targeted investments and a clear roadmap to improve their global standing.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2025