Nineteen academic subjects at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) were ranked in the top 50 in the world, according to the ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2024. Notably, Library & Information Science was ranked 1st in the world, Public Administration was ranked 8th globally, and Energy Science & Engineering was ranked 9th in the world, reflecting CityUHK’s outstanding capabilities and further affirming its excellence. This underscores Hong Kong’s reputation as one of the best cities for studying abroad.

This year, CityUHK has 40 subjects listed in the GRAS, 19 of them in the global top 50 (see the table below). Fourteen of the 19 subjects were ranked first in Hong Kong: Library & Information Science, Public Administration, Energy Science & Engineering, Automation & Control, Metallurgical Engineering, Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Computer Science & Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, Business Administration, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Veterinary Sciences and Agricultural Sciences.

CityUHK subjects ranked in the top 50 in the ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2024:

CityUHK has always emphasised interdisciplinary research. The “Library & Information Science” subject, which is ranked first in the world, owes its success primarily to the University’s strong performance in related disciplines, such as computer science, information systems and data science.

The University’s world-class research teams and capabilities have been consistently acknowledged in various global rankings. According to the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings 2025, CityUHK ranked 10th among 984 universities in Asia, a leap of seven places from last year, and was ranked third in Hong Kong. CityUHK is among Asia’s top 1% of universities in these rankings.

CityUHK scholars are committed to pioneering research that benefits society. Nearly 210 CityUHK scholars have been listed among the “World’s Top 2% Most-Cited Scientists,” making CityUHK first in Hong Kong in the proportion of top scientists relative to total faculty. Additionally, 28 scholars were named Highly Cited Researchers for 2023 by Clarivate, again ranking CityUHK first in Hong Kong based on the ratio of Highly Cited Researchers to faculty size. Furthermore, 32 outstanding scholars received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China in 2024. And CityUHK topped local institutions for the eighth consecutive year in the prestigious Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted US Utility Patents.

This year, on the 30th anniversary of becoming a university, CityUHK established the Academy of Innovation and the Institute of Digital Medicine, forging global partnerships for future healthcare innovation. The University is also actively establishing academic collaboration with renowned institutions worldwide. Recently, it formed partnerships with the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and Peking University in Mainland China, and it is expanding teaching and research collaboration with higher education institutions in Belt and Road countries.

Professor Freddy Boey, President of CityUHK, expressed his delight at the continued recognition of the University. He stated, “CityUHK is committed to addressing sustainable development challenges through pioneering research and providing innovative solutions for urgent global issues. We will continue to support our teaching and research teams in advancing cutting-edge research, creating a positive impact on society, and actively promoting Hong Kong as an international hub for higher education while building the ‘Studying in Hong Kong’ brand.”

The Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) was first published by the higher education evaluation agency ShanghaiRanking in 2017. It includes rankings for universities in 55 subjects across the Natural Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences. The rankings utilize a range of objective academic indicators to measure the performance of world universities in their respective subjects, including international academic awards, research output, research quality and international collaboration. This year, the rankings encompassed over 5,000 universities worldwide, with approximately 1,900 universities from about 96 countries and regions appearing on the lists in various disciplines.