ITMO has nearly doubled its presence in the subject rankings, featuring in 12 subject areas as opposed to last year’s 7. In addition to computer science, artificial intelligence, and electrical and electronic engineering, it has strengthened its standing in several other subject areas and subjects. The university is now ranked 146th in the world and 2nd among all Russian institutions in the Engineering – Electrical and Electronic ranking. ITMO has also risen by 11 points to the 254th spot in the Natural Sciences general subject ranking, entered the global top 250 in Mathematics (as compared to last year’s top 300) and the global top 200 in Art & Design, as well as made a debut in Engineering – Chemical (top 350).

The QS World University Rankings (QS WUR) are compiled by the international research and consulting center Quacquarelli Symonds. It ranks universities based on five indicators: the participating universities’ reputation among both the academic community and employers, their staff’s citation rates and h-index, and a new indicator called international research network, which accounts for international collaborations and co-authorship (with the exception of social science and humanities). Rankings compiled by QS are considered to be among the world’s most prestigious and reliable, on par with those of ShanghaiRanking and Times Higher Education.

This year’s QS World University Rankings by Subject include 54 subjects placed within five major subject areas: natural, technical, social, and life sciences, as well as humanities. A higher education institution may be featured in the rankings only if it offers Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD programs in at least two of the five subject areas.

Previously, ITMO has already been ranked as Russia’s top university in the Computer Science & Engineering category according to ShanghaiRanking. In addition, the St. Petersburg-based university has been named one of the top Russian universities based on the quality of training for AI specialists in a ranking put together by the AI Alliance using methodology recognized by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.