World University Rankings 2020 by subject: social sciences

The 2020 Times Higher Education World University Rankings table for social sciences subjects uses the same trusted and rigorous performance indicators as our overall World University Rankings, but the weightings have been recalibrated to suit the individual fields.

The ranking assesses universities by their performance in communication and media studies, politics and international studies, sociology and geography subjects.

This year’s table includes 720 universities, up from 666 last year.

View the World University Rankings 2020 by subject: social sciences methodology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology tops the table for the first time since 2016 after rising two places. Last year’s frontrunner, the University of Oxford, drops one place to second, while Harvard University rises one place to third.

China’s Peking University is the only Asian university in the top 20, ranking at 18th, up from 23rd last year. Overall, 11 Asian institutions appear in the top 100, the same number as last year, although South Korea’s Seoul National University is replaced by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which enters in joint 99th place.

View the full results of the overall World University Rankings 2020

To raise your university’s global profile with Times Higher Education, please contact branding@timeshighereducation.com

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