The rankings are based upon academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact (click here to read the full methodology).

Use the interactive table below to filter the rankings by location, and click on individual universities for more information. Registered users will also be able to use the site’s Compare function to see facts and statistics about multiple universities side-by-side.

Another strong year for Linguistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) translated into a fourth consecutive first place finish in our subject rankings. Harvard is another non-mover in second place, while the University of Massachusetts, Amherst was the highest climber in the top 10, rising four places to third.

Away from the English-speaking world, Peking University finished joint 10th for the second straight year. Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia) and the University of Tokyo (Japan) also placed in the top 20.

Interested in other courses besides Linguistics? The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017 covers 46 different subjects. Click here to see the full list.