School of Social and Political Science

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Four School of Social and Political Science (SPS) subject areas are in the top 50 in the world and top 10 in the UK, according to the latest QS World University Rankings. 

Higher education analyst QS shares insight and guidance to help students make the right decisions about university. Its 2025 World University Rankings by Subject analysed more than 550 institutions across 55 subjects. The analysis focuses on factors such as student experience, global partnerships, research opportunities, and the quality of teaching. 

While not all SPS subject areas have corresponding categories in the rankings, the following are included and among the top ranked in the world and the UK: 

• Social Policy: 13 in the world; four in the UK (Our Social Policy subject area comes under the QS’ ‘Social Policy and Administration’ category)
• Social Anthropology: 17 in the world; five in the UK (Our Social Anthropology subject area comes under the QS’ ‘Anthropology’ category)
• Sociology: 30 in the world; six in the UK
• Politics and International Relations: 31 in the world; seven in the UK 

SPS Head of School John Devaney said: “We are pleased to share the latest QS rankings for these disciplines in the School. They clearly reflect the high national and international standing of the School amongst our peers. I’m grateful to colleagues whose work has resulted in such high rankings, and would like to congratulate everyone on this achievement.” 

See the QS World University Rankings here.