1.Number of Universities Included in the World University Rankings

The World University Rankings initially included the top 500 universities when they were first published in 2007. The rankings expanded to include the top 800 universities in 2017, 1,000 universities in 2022, and 1,200 universities in 2024.

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2.Number of Universities Included in Knowledge Fields Rankings

Since 2008, the rankings of knowledge fields have included 300 universities. This number was increased to 500 universities in 2017. In 2024, most fields were further adjusted to include 600 universities, except for Agriculture, which remained at 500, and Engineering, which was expanded to 700 universities.

3.Number of Universities Included in Subject Areas

The NTU Rankings began reporting on subject areas in 2011, initially covering fourteen subjects, including Agricultural Sciences, Environment/Ecology, Plant & Animal Science, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, Geoscience, Mathematics, and Physics with the top 300 universities ranked. In 2012, Pharmacology & Toxicology was added as a subject area.

Over time, more subject areas were included along the way and the number of universities ranked in each area was adjusted. In 2016, Mathematics was expanded to include the top 400 universities, while Agricultural Sciences, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Pharmacology & Toxicology, Chemistry, and Physics were expanded to include the top 500 universities. In 2018, Mathematics further expanded to include the top 500 universities.

In 2019, five new subjects were added: Biology & Biochemistry, Immunology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology & Genetics, and Neuroscience & Behavior, each ranking the top 300 universities. In 2020, Clinical Medicine and Social Sciences, General were expanded to include the top 500 universities. In 2021, three new subjects were introduced: Biomedical Engineering, Energy Science & Engineering, and Environmental Science & Engineering, ranking the top 100, 200, and 300 universities, respectively.

By 2024, the Biomedical Engineering was expanded to include the top 150 universities, Energy Science & Engineering to 300 universities, and Economics & Business, Chemical Engineering, and Civil Engineering were each expanded to include the top 400 universities.