Which institution is best at Physical Sciences research?

Top Physical Sciences Research Institutions

Chinese Academy of Sciences ranks first in 2022–2025, out of 12,888 ranked institutions.

Composite score: field-normalised excellence, output and total citations weighted 50 / 30 / 20, each as a percentile so no single heavy-tailed measure dominates. Floor: 40 fractional works in this field.

Ranked by research quality, 2022–2025

#	Institution	Score	Top-10% rate	Works	Citations	All time
1	Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing	100.0	25.5%	46k	608k	#5
2	Tsinghua University China · Beijing	92.7	26.5%	32k	438k	#19
3	University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing	88.4	26.1%	26k	331k	#55
4	Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou	85.4	23.3%	26k	307k	#57
5	University of Science and Technology of China China · Hefei	83.0	24.3%	20k	247k	#54
6	Shanghai Jiao Tong University China · Shanghai	81.1	24.2%	29k	316k	#65
7	Peking University China · Beijing	79.4	26.1%	15k	185k	#56
8	Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States · Cambridge	78.0	26.8%	8.4k	111k	#1
9	Harbin Institute of Technology China · Harbin	76.8	23.8%	30k	340k	#78
10	Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France · Paris	75.7	17.6%	24k	187k	#4
11	Xi'an Jiaotong University China · Xi'an	74.7	23.2%	27k	289k	#87
12	Beijing Institute of Technology China · Beijing	73.7	22.9%	22k	220k	—
13	Central South University China · Changsha	72.9	26.8%	23k	281k	#98
14	Nanjing University China · Nanjing	72.1	24.9%	11k	148k	#83
15	National University of Singapore Singapore · Singapore	71.4	29.5%	11k	163k	#48
16	Wuhan University China · Wuhan	70.7	27.8%	16k	202k	#91
17	Nankai University China · Tianjin	70.1	27.9%	9.2k	147k	#99
18	Northwestern Polytechnical University China · Xi'an	69.5	27.2%	21k	242k	—
19	Huazhong University of Science and Technology China · Wuhan	68.9	23.5%	22k	261k	—
20	ETH Zurich Switzerland · Zurich	68.3	27.9%	9.5k	119k	#13
21	Nanyang Technological University Singapore · Singapore	67.8	31.7%	11k	179k	#50
22	Stanford University United States · Stanford	67.3	26.4%	7.9k	107k	#2
23	Sichuan University China · Chengdu	66.9	24.0%	17k	225k	—
24	University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford	66.4	26.5%	8k	90k	#17
25	Beihang University China · Beijing	66.0	24.9%	20k	180k	#95
26	Sun Yat-sen University China · Guangzhou	65.6	24.6%	17k	180k	—
27	Tianjin University China · Tianjin	65.2	21.0%	21k	232k	—
28	Fudan University China · Shanghai	64.8	23.7%	12k	141k	—
29	South China University of Technology China · Guangzhou	64.4	22.6%	18k	209k	—
30	Hunan University China · Changsha	64.1	27.4%	11k	167k	—
31	University of Hong Kong Hong Kong · Pok Fu Lam	63.7	31.7%	7.6k	111k	—
32	Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong · Hong Kong	63.4	34.3%	11k	170k	—
33	Princeton University United States · Princeton	63.1	29.5%	4.7k	61k	#8
34	Southern University of Science and Technology China · Shenzhen	62.7	27.3%	8.5k	118k	—
35	Chongqing University China · Chongqing	62.4	23.9%	18k	217k	—
36	Zhengzhou University China · Zhengzhou	62.1	23.4%	12k	164k	—
37	City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong · Hong Kong	61.8	32.2%	8.1k	135k	—
38	University of California, Berkeley United States · Berkeley	61.6	17.9%	10k	90k	#3
39	Shandong University China · Jinan	61.3	21.4%	17k	183k	—
40	University of Science and Technology Beijing China · Beijing	61.0	21.5%	14k	169k	—
41	Harvard University United States · Cambridge	60.8	30.6%	4.1k	63k	#7
42	California Institute of Technology United States · Pasadena	60.5	27.7%	3.8k	50k	#6
43	University of Cambridge United Kingdom · Cambridge	60.3	25.4%	8.1k	90k	#10
44	Dalian University of Technology China · Dalian	60.0	22.4%	17k	182k	—
45	University of Electronic Science and Technology of China China · Chengdu	59.8	20.0%	19k	152k	—
46	Jilin University China · Changchun	59.5	23.3%	13k	159k	—
47	Shenzhen University China · Shenzhen	59.3	25.6%	11k	138k	—
48	Tongji University China · Shanghai	59.1	23.1%	20k	212k	—
49	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland · Lausanne	58.9	23.8%	6.4k	70k	#28
50	Jiangsu University China · Zhenjiang	58.7	26.3%	10k	144k	—
51	Southeast University China · Nanjing	58.5	21.8%	23k	225k	—
52	The University of Tokyo Japan · Tokyo	58.2	14.9%	14k	90k	#14
53	Imperial College London United Kingdom · London	58.0	23.3%	9.5k	103k	#32
54	Xiamen University China · Xiamen	57.9	22.5%	9.7k	114k	—
55	Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong · Hong Kong	57.7	31.2%	6k	85k	—
56	Beijing Normal University China · Beijing	57.5	26.7%	7.8k	91k	—
57	University of California, Los Angeles United States · Los Angeles	57.3	21.0%	6.2k	64k	#22
58	University College London United Kingdom · London	57.1	25.7%	7.7k	84k	#61
59	Beijing University of Chemical Technology China · Beijing	56.9	23.7%	7.6k	121k	—
60	Shanghai University China · Shanghai	56.7	18.9%	12k	109k	—
61	Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory United States · Berkeley	56.6	20.9%	4.5k	49k	#15
62	Fuzhou University China · Fuzhou	56.4	21.2%	9.4k	108k	—
63	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Saudi Arabia · Jeddah	56.2	27.6%	5k	73k	—
64	China University of Geosciences China · Wuhan	56.1	29.2%	8.3k	101k	—
65	Nanjing University of Science and Technology China · Nanjing	55.9	19.0%	15k	126k	—
66	UNSW Sydney Australia · Sydney	55.7	26.2%	7.5k	93k	#97
67	Soochow University China · Suzhou	55.6	21.7%	8.5k	108k	—
68	National University of Defense Technology China · Changsha	55.4	20.5%	15k	90k	—
69	Northeastern University China · Shenyang	55.3	22.2%	16k	165k	—
70	Columbia University United States · New York	55.1	22.7%	5k	53k	#35
71	Technical University of Munich Germany · Munich	55.0	21.1%	10k	87k	#46
72	Wuhan University of Technology China · Wuhan	54.8	19.3%	14k	145k	—
73	University of California San Diego United States · San Diego	54.7	21.6%	6k	62k	#31
74	University of Michigan United States · Ann Arbor	54.5	20.9%	8.6k	77k	#16
75	Cornell University United States · Ithaca	54.4	23.1%	6k	62k	#11
76	Guangdong University of Technology China · Guangzhou	54.2	22.4%	9.7k	114k	—
77	Yale University United States · New Haven	54.1	25.6%	3.6k	41k	#30
78	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign United States · Urbana	54.0	20.5%	8.8k	76k	#9
79	University of Toronto Canada · Toronto	53.8	21.7%	7.8k	76k	#41
80	Saveetha University India · Chennai	53.7	18.8%	11k	82k	—
81	University of Washington United States · Seattle	53.6	23.6%	6.3k	64k	#21
82	Qingdao University China · Qingdao	53.4	27.2%	5.6k	92k	—
83	Lanzhou University China · Lanzhou	53.3	23.7%	6.6k	71k	—
84	Zhejiang University of Technology China · Hangzhou	53.2	21.9%	8.2k	99k	—
85	King Saud University Saudi Arabia · Riyadh	53.1	24.9%	9k	106k	—
86	Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong · Hong Kong	52.9	28.0%	5.4k	68k	—
87	East China University of Science and Technology China · Shanghai	52.8	20.6%	8k	98k	—
88	Pennsylvania State University United States · State College	52.7	19.5%	8.8k	76k	#23
89	China University of Mining and Technology China · Xuzhou	52.6	23.3%	15k	147k	—
90	East China Normal University China · Shanghai	52.5	22.8%	6.2k	65k	—
91	University of California, Santa Barbara United States · Santa Barbara	52.3	23.5%	3.7k	41k	#12
92	Northwestern University United States · Evanston	52.2	25.8%	3.5k	49k	#34
93	Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology China · Nanjing	52.1	21.5%	7k	66k	—
94	Zhejiang Normal University China · Jinhua	52.0	26.7%	3.9k	51k	—
95	Nanjing Tech University China · Nanjing	51.9	20.6%	8.7k	104k	—
96	University of Chicago United States · Chicago	51.8	23.7%	3.7k	36k	#29
97	Xidian University China · Xi'an	51.7	23.3%	14k	105k	—
98	The University of Texas at Austin United States · Austin	51.6	21.1%	8.1k	78k	#20
99	University of Manchester United Kingdom · Manchester	51.4	21.4%	6.3k	61k	#70
100	China University of Petroleum, East China China · Qingdao	51.3	20.5%	9k	96k	—

institutions ranked worldwide in Physical Sciences (12,888). rank on the composite score within the stated pool. The score track runs 0 to 100; the rate track carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field.

How spread out this pool is

Every row above on one axis — one tick each, right is a higher score. A field where the top few are far clear of everyone and one that runs down evenly look identical as a table.

One bar per band of score, counting the rows on this page.

Ranked by volume, 2022–2025

1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China 46k works
2 Tsinghua University China 32k works
3 Harbin Institute of Technology China 30k works
4 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China 29k works
5 Xi'an Jiaotong University China 27k works
6 Zhejiang University China 26k works
7 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China 26k works
8 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France 24k works
9 Southeast University China 23k works
10 Central South University China 23k works
11 Huazhong University of Science and Technology China 22k works
12 Beijing Institute of Technology China 22k works
13 Northwestern Polytechnical University China 21k works
14 Tianjin University China 21k works
15 Beihang University China 20k works

Ranked by research quality, 2022–2025

How spread out this pool is

Ranked by volume, 2022–2025

Physical Sciences by country