Manchester School of Architecture (MSA) has once again retained its position in the top five best in the world in the QS World Subject Rankings.
MSA, a collaboration between Manchester Met and the University of Manchester, has continued its top five success of the last three years and has comfortably held its spot in the top 11 since 2016.
This year’s rankings also see sport related subjects at Manchester Met ranked 45th globally, rising from the 51-100 bracket in 2025.
Art and Design as well as Hospitality and Leisure subjects have maintained their positions in the top 100, while English Language and Literature and Environmental Sciences have risen up the rankings.
A prestigious measure of global success, the 2026 QS World Subject Rankings highlight the world’s top performing universities across 55 academic disciplines at more than 1,700 universities in 100 locations around the world.
Professor Andy Dainty, Vice-Provost and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education at Manchester Met, said: “The QS world rankings show that we are delivering on our commitment to delivering excellent education through high-quality programmes that generate outstanding results.
“Alongside our accolades as Modern University of the Year 2026 and our Gold status in the Teaching Excellence Framework, the rankings show that we are leading the way globally across a range of subjects.
“We will continue to build on this success to ensure that we deliver an excellent and broad-based educational experience, which meet the needs of our students and their future employers.”
Published annually, the QS World Subject Rankings are compiled according to academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact and help prospective students to identify leading universities in particular subjects.
MSA brings together two schools from Manchester Met and the University of Manchester with more than 100 years’ experience, more than 150 experts in their architectural fields and more than 1,200 students from 80 countries.
Manchester Met’s rich offering to its students includes, amongst other programmes, MSA Collective – a series of cultural events that welcome key figures in the world of architecture such as Sir Peter Cook, Thomas Heatherwick, Lord Norman Foster and George Clarke.
Through the University’s Institute of Sport, students can choose to specialise in a range of sport subjects from anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics to nutrition and psychology.
Studying in a city that lives and breathes sport, Manchester Met’s research-informed teaching also gives students the opportunity to engage in projects or gain work experience with partners including Manchester City FC, Manchester United FC, British Swimming and more.
