More than 900 universities across the world will be ranked in the second edition of the ̽»¨ÊÓƵ Interdisciplinary Science Rankings (ISR) next month.

A total of 911 universities from 94 countries and territories will be included in the ranking, a 22 per cent rise since last year, reflecting the growing consensus that the world¡¯s most pressing problems can be solved only with insights from a range of scholarly fields.

The ranking ¨C a project in?association with Schmidt Science Fellows?¨C measures university performance in three areas: inputs (funding); process (measures of success,?facilities,?administrative?support?and promotion); and outputs (publications,?research quality?and reputation). The ranking was created to?improve scientific excellence and collaboration across disciplines?and aims to help institutions benchmark their interdisciplinary scientific work.?

This year, in response to university engagement and feedback, the interdisciplinary scope has been broadened to cover any research project that comprises multiple scientific disciplines, or one or more scientific disciplines combined with one or more of the following non-STEM disciplines: social sciences, education, psychology, law, economics, or?medical and health.

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Megan Kenna, Schmidt Science Fellows executive director,? said: ¡°The growing global participation in the ranking underscores the important and expanding role of interdisciplinary research within institutions worldwide.

¡°It also reflects a clear appetite in higher education to learn from pioneering approaches and to build strategies grounded in robust data and analysis. Developed in close collaboration with the research community, the ISR continues to evolve, providing deeper, more actionable insights that serve institutions and research leaders around the world.¡±

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The ranking draws on institutional data provided directly by universities, bibliometric data and the results of the Interdisciplinary Science Research Survey, which targets experienced, published academics across the world and asks for their views on excellence in interdisciplinary research.

Phil Baty, chief global affairs officer at ̽»¨ÊÓƵ,?said: ¡°It is exciting and inspirational to see the international university community not only grasp the importance of interdisciplinarity in helping to drive forward the kind of discoveries that will make our world a better place, but also embrace the importance of measurements and benchmarks in this rapidly emerging new frontier of science.¡±

¡°This project goes way beyond the simple development of another university ranking, to develop a clear, comprehensive and rich understanding of interdisciplinary science across the world, to help us identify, celebrate and harness best practices for the benefit of the wider sector,¡± he added.

India once again has the largest number of ranked universities with 88, up from 65 last year, followed by Turkey, which almost doubles its tally from 45 to 82. The US has the third-highest number of entrants with 46, up from 38.

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Eight countries are ranked for the first time this year: Kenya with two universities, and Bolivia, Costa Rica, Luxembourg, Oman, Panama, Tanzania and Yemen with one institution each.

A further 356 institutions will be listed as reporters, meaning that they provided data but did not meet the eligibility criteria to receive a rank.

The?inaugural Interdisciplinary Science Rankings, published in November 2024, was?THE¡¯²õ?largest-ever debut ranking,?with participation from 749 institutions in more than 90 countries or territories, and a further 274 reporter institutions.

The data showed that there is no silver bullet when it comes to producing world-changing interdisciplinary science.

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The Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026 will be published on 20 November.?.

Register to take part in the Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2027

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