The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been named the top university in the world for interdisciplinary science in a new ranking system released today by Times Higher Education in association with Schmidt Science Fellows.
The 2025 Interdisciplinary Science Rankings (ISR) includes 749 institutions in 92 different countries. The United States was the clear leader, placing seven institutions in the top 10. The U.S had 16 universities in the top 100. India had the most universities ranked overall, with 65.
Here were the top 10 institutions:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Stanford University
- National University of Singapore
- California Institute of Technology
- Duke University
- University of Minnesota
- Wageningen University & Research (Netherlands)
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Northestern University (11), the University of Texas at Austin (14), the University of Washington (15), Arizona State University (18) and Purdue University all made the top 20.
Asia had 370 universities that were ranked, accounting for almost half of the total and making it the most represented continent in the ISR (Europe was next with 179, Africa had 78, South America, 60, North America, 57, and Oceania, 5.)
Asia had the most institutions in the top 100, with 47 institutions in 15 countries. It was followed by Europe with 24 universities, North America with 17, Africa with five, Oceania with four and South America with three.
About The Rankings
THE’s new ranking benchmarked universities by measuring their performance in three areas: inputs (funding); process (measures of success, facilities, administrative support and promotion); and outputs (publications, research quality and reputation). Here’s a breakdown of the 11 ranking factors and their weights:
Inputs: 19%
- Interdisciplinary science research funding: 8%
- Industry funding: 11%
Process: 16%
- Measure of success: 4%
- Physical facilities: 4%
- Administrative support: 4%
- Promotion process: 4%
Outputs: 65%
- Number of interdisciplinary science research publications: 10%
- Proportion of interdisciplinary science research publications: 5%
- Utility out of discipline: 5%
- Quality of interdisciplinary science research: 20%
- Reputation: 25%
The data were collected from various sources, including the institutions themselves and bibliometric data (publications, citations) supplied by Elsevier.
“Universities worldwide are using interdisciplinary science to boost innovation and to make breakthrough discoveries that help to solve the world’s biggest challenges. This ranking stands as a testament to the skills, techniques and dedication from a broad range of scientific disciplines that drives this research forwards,” said Phil Baty, THE’s chief global affairs officer, in a news release.
“THE is delighted to bring this inaugural ranking to life, and hope that the ranking’s impetus for greater collaboration will support many more scientific breakthroughs in institutions across the world,” added Baty.
The rankings are intended to draw attention to the advantages of cross-boundary science by championing it as the best way to address today’s biggest challenges and best opportunities for innovation.
According to the THE news release, the top-ranked institutions “all have a strong focus on engineering and technology. They also have interdisciplinarity woven into their DNA from undergraduate education to postgraduate programmes and research centres. Their interdisciplinary aspirations are well supported in terms of funding and administrative support.”
Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Sciences, said the rankings recognized universities that were “breaking down silos and creating new ways of pursuing knowledge, bringing us closer to transformative discoveries about ourselves and our universe.”
“To answer the world’s toughest questions—whether it’s scaling fusion energy or advancing quantum computing—we need to think differently,” added Eric Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Sciences, in a news release. “The Interdisciplinary Science Rankings recognises universities that are advancing the practice of science for the next century and beyond through new institutions, emerging technologies, and effective teaching.”