History at York placed =12th in the UK and in the top 100 in the world

This week, York’s Department of History reconfirmed its place among the world’s most highly regarded departments for the study of history. This subject was ranked =12th in the UK and in the world top 100 by QS World University Rankings (2025). The department sits in our Arts and Humanities faculty, which was ranked 75th in the world.

Published annually, QS World University Rankings assess over 50 subjects, at over 1,700 universities, on academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact.

Head of Department, Professor Oleg Benesch, said "It is great to see this affirmation of the fantastic work being done by colleagues in History, whose teaching and research across a wide range of regions and periods are at the cutting edge of the discipline."

York's overall position

In total, three subjects at the University of York were ranked in the top 50 globally, as well as top 20 in the UK: 

• Archaeology (5th in the UK, 25th= globally)
• English Language and Literature (8th in the UK, 32nd globally)
• Social Policy and Administration (8th in the UK, 41st globally)
  

Six more were ranked in the top 100 in the world. All of which are ranked as top 20 in the UK: 

• Education and Training (11th in the UK, 72 globally)
• Sociology (17th in the UK, 88th globally)
• Psychology (14th in the UK, 97th globally)
• Linguistics (9th in the UK, 99th= globally)
• Performing Arts (=13th in the UK, top 100 globally)
• History (=12th in the UK, top 100 globally)

In the broad subject of Arts and Humanities, we were ranked 75th globally.