NUS is the only Asian university to gain a position in Quacquarelli Symonds’ (QS) list of 10 best universities worldwide, with 11 subjects attaining a top-10 ranking in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018. The University is also ranked in the top 50 for 34 subjects out of the 48 disciplines analysed by QS. 11 of those subjects are housed in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (Environmental Sciences is co-hosted with Faculty of Science). Overall, FASS is ranked in the global top 20 in the broad subject areas in Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences & Management.
Broad Subject Areas:
| Broad Subject Areas | ||
| Global | Asia | |
| Arts & Humanities | 18 | 2 |
| Social Sciences & Management | 7 | 1 |
By Subject:
| Subject | Global Rank | Asia Rank |
| Anthropology | 21 | 1 |
| Communications & Media Studies | 14 | 2 |
| Economics & Econometrics | 20 | 1 |
| English Language & Literature | 15 | 1 |
| Geography | 10 | 1 |
| History | 24 | 2 |
| Linguistics | 21 | 4 |
| Modern Languages | 14 | 4 |
| Philosophy | 51-100 | 6 |
| Politics & International Studies | 12 | 1 |
| Psychology | 51-100 | 3 |
| Sociology | 17 | 1 |
| Environmental Sciences | 10 | 1 |