QS Rankings by Subject 2026

The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) is the best university in Spain for studying Agricultural Sciences, Art and Design, Chemical Engineering, and Statistics and Operational Research.

This is according to the QS Rankings By Subject 2026, in which the Valencian polytechnic also ranks as the 36th best university in the world for Agricultural Sciences and is in the global top 100 for Architecture and Information and Library Science, as well as being among the 150 most outstanding universities worldwide in Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering, Art and Design, Chemical Engineering, Information and Library Science, Civil Engineering, and Statistics and Operational Research.

A global benchmark in Engineering and Technology

In terms of broad fields of study, QS ranks the UPV among the world's top 150 universities for Engineering and Technology. Specifically, it places the university at 135th, an improvement of 10 places on its previous ranking.

The rise is even greater in Natural Sciences, where it climbs 42 places from 331st to 289th. Furthermore, the ranking also places the institution, currently led by José E. Capilla, in the top 500 for both Life Sciences and Arts and Humanities.

Highlighted in 18 disciplines and on a clear upward trend that shows no sign of stopping

As for the subjects analysed, QS highlights the UPV in a total of 18 disciplines, one more than in 2025. Furthermore, compared to the previous edition, the UPV shows a clear upward trajectory.

Not surprisingly, of its results in the 17 disciplines recognised in 2025, the UPV improved in 11 of them in 2026, remained in the same position in 4, and saw only a minimal decline in 2, with rises of up to 100 places (from the top 350 to the top 250), for example, in both Mathematics and Environmental Sciences.

In addition to all those mentioned, QS also ranks the UPV among the world's top 200 universities in Chemistry and Electrical and Electronic Engineering; among the top 250 in Materials Science and Computer Science, among the top 350 in Business Administration and Management, in the top 400 in Biological Sciences and Physics and Astronomy, and among the top 450 in Economics and Econometrics.

8 national podium finishes

In addition to being ranked as the best university in Spain for Agricultural Sciences, Art and Design, Chemical Engineering – in this case, tied with the Complutense University of Madrid, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Barcelona – and Statistics and Operational Research – tied with the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – the UPV has secured a total of 8 national top-three rankings according to the QS assessment.

To all of the above, we must add its recognition as the third-best university in the country for studying Civil Engineering, Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Architecture.

6,277 universities analysed by Quacquarelli Symonds

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a world-leading provider of services, analytics, and research within the higher education sector, has conducted a comparative analysis of the reputation and research performance of a total of 6,277 universities for the compilation of this ranking – 1,074 more than in the previous edition.

Using five indicators —academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per paper, h-index and international research network—QS evaluates the work of universities by grouping them into five broad fields of knowledge—Arts and Humanities, Engineering and Technology, Life Sciences and Medicine, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences and Business Management—which are subsequently subdivided into rankings for 55 academic disciplines.

Alongside the Shanghai Ranking – compiled by Jiao Tong University – and the Times Higher Education (THE) Ranking – produced by the British publication – the QS ranking is considered one of the three most important in the world.

All of them, without exception, highlight the UPV as an international benchmark in the field.