GRAS 2025: The Balance of Academic Power Is Shifting East
The 2025 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS), released by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, has once again confirmed the strong rise of Chinese universities in global academic competition. This year, Chinese institutions achieved world-leading positions in 21 academic fields, surpassing last year’s figure of 18.
Tsinghua University ranked second globally with seven top positions, just behind Harvard University, which maintained its lead with world number one rankings in 11 subjects. Shanghai Jiao Tong University secured first place in two fields, while 12 other Chinese universities, including Beihang University, achieved global leadership in at least one subject.
Two new disciplines were added to this year’s ranking: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Science and Engineering. With these additions, the total number of evaluated subjects increased to 57. Notably, Chinese universities secured global leadership for the first time in three key disciplines: Power Electronics Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering.
In terms of country performance, the United States retained its leading position with 4,281 entries and world-leading results in 27 subjects. China ranked second with 3,747 entries, while a total of 359 Chinese universities managed to secure a place in the rankings — highlighting not only elite performance but also a broad-based academic presence.
The GRAS methodology is based on nine objective indicators, including faculty quality, research output, international collaboration and research impact. It also incorporates results from an Academic Excellence Survey, which draws on 46 international academic awards, 175 leading academic journals, and 26 top-tier conferences in computer science and artificial intelligence.