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Linguistics at York placed 9th in the UK and 99th in the world

Posted on 14 March 2025

Linguistics at York placed 9th in the UK and 99th in the world according to the latest release of the QS World University Rankings by subject (2025).

This week, York’s Department of Language and Linguistic Science reconfirmed its place among the world’s most highly regarded departments for the study of linguistics. This subject was ranked [9th] in the UK and [99th in the world] by QS World University Rankings (2025), retaining its top-100 position globally. 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 Monika Schmid said “I am delighted to see that our strong research performance – which placed us as the first department in the UK in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (based on the Times Higher Education methodology) – has again placed us in the top 10 nationally and the top 100 internationally. In the Department of Language and Linguistic Science, we are committed to providing the highest quality of education to our students, underpinned by our world-leading research.”

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.