Released yesterday, the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 places Otago’s sports-related subjects 22nd, anatomy and physiology 36th, dentistry 50th, and hospitality and leisure management 50th.
These subjects are also ranked first in New Zealand, although there was a slight dip on the world stage for sports-related subjects, which was ranked 11th in the world last year.
Anatomy department head Prof Greg Anderson said it had been an "exciting" year.
"Yeah, we're really ecstatic. I think it reflects the high quality of teaching and research together that's done across the Department of Medicine. These things go hand in hand, he said.
"The rankings are done, I think, based on reputation among an international panel that answer questionnaires about this thing. So it's really important to have good interactions with our overseas colleagues, to be teaching international students and leading them back to where they came from, and to be doing world-class research that's in international journals."
A highlight for Prof Anderson was a publication in the prestigious journal Nature about how early-life events affect later life health.
"So that gives you an idea of some of the ... breadth of research that we have."
The rankings represent a steady year for the university, as they recorded four subjects in the top 50, eight in the top 100 and 20 in the top 200.
They were just behind the University of Auckland, which had nine of its subjects in the top 50, 23 in the top 100 and 50 in the top 200.
QS chief executive Jessica Turner said the rankings showed the breadth of excellence across New Zealand’s higher education ecosystem.
Economics, accounting, computer science and education were the most represented disciplines among New Zealand’s universities in 2026, she said.
“Compared with other higher education ecosystems in other regions of the world, New Zealand’s eight universities bat well above their weight, offering unique learning opportunities to domestic and international students alike."
Otago University deputy vice-chancellor (research and innovation) Prof Gregory Cook welcomed the results, which placed the university in the top two in the country.
“We know Otago provides a world-class education in a range of subjects, so it is great to see that reflected in these results.
“I'm incredibly proud of the work by our kaimahi to ensure Otago is among the best in the world.”
The rankings are determined by five indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper, H-index and international research network.
QS senior vice-president Ben Sowter said New Zealand’s universities were key to producing a future-ready workforce for the country and national strategies, such as last year’s AI strategy, would only succeed if higher education was supported to continue to contribute to society and economic growth.
