| Subject | QS | THE | ARWU | U.S. News |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth & Geosciences | #14 | — | #1 | #21 |
| Medicine / Clinical | #24 | — | #26 | #1 |
| Biological Sciences | #9 | — | #11 | #5 |
| Pharmacy & Pharmacology | #14 | — | #6 | #16 |
| Biotechnology | — | — | #10 | #8 |
| Political Science & IR | #25 | — | #9 | — |
| Anatomy & Physiology | #10 | — | — | — |
| Psychology | #68 | #40 | #51-75 | #12 |
| Biomedical Engineering | — | — | #13 | — |
| Life Sciences & Medicine | #14 | #27 | — | — |
| Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering | #86 | — | #14 | — |
| Economics & Econometrics | #24 | — | #16 | #115 |
| Materials Science | #51 | — | #24 | #67 |
| Electrical & Electronic Engineering | #32 | — | #101-150 | #199 |
| Chemistry | #32 | — | #51-75 | #77 |
| Artificial Intelligence | #33 | — | #101-150 | #109 |
| Automation & Control | — | — | #33 | — |
| Linguistics | #35 | — | — | — |
| Sociology | #72 | — | #35 | — |
| Computer Science | #42 | #36 | #50 | #47 |
| Physics & Astronomy | #37 | — | #76-100 | #68 |
| Natural / Physical Sciences | #39 | #47 | — | — |
| Clinical & Health | — | #39 | — | — |
| Statistics | #51-100 | — | #41 | — |
| Mathematics | #62 | — | #42 | #106 |
| Telecommunication Engineering | — | — | #42 | — |
| Business & Economics | — | #45 | — | — |
| Performing Arts | #51-100 | — | — | — |
| Philosophy | #51-100 | — | — | — |
| Civil Engineering | #51-100 | — | #301-400 | — |
| Anthropology | #51-100 | — | — | — |
| Communication & Media | #51-100 | — | — | — |
| Accounting & Finance | #101-150 | — | #51-75 | — |
| Public Health | — | — | #51-75 | #59 |
| Engineering & Technology | #56 | #52 | — | #120 |
| Agriculture & Forestry | — | — | — | #53 |
| Social Sciences & Management | #141 | #58 | — | — |
| Arts & Humanities | #131 | #89 | — | #59 |
| Education | #101-150 | #87 | #76-100 | — |
| Nanoscience & Nanotechnology | — | — | #76-100 | #108 |
| Energy Science & Engineering | — | — | #76-100 | #85 |
| Chemical Engineering | #85 | — | — | — |
| Environmental Science | #107 | — | #201-300 | #98 |
| Art & Design | #101-150 | — | — | — |
| History | #101-150 | — | — | — |
| English Language & Literature | #151-200 | — | — | — |
| Modern Languages | #151-200 | — | — | — |
| Law | #201-250 | — | #151-200 | — |
| Business & Management | #301-350 | — | #151-200 | — |
| Archaeology | #201-260 | — | — | — |
| Architecture | #201-260 | — | — | — |
| Geography | #201-250 | — | — | — |
University of California, San Diego ranks #66 in QS 2026, #47 in THE 2026, #20 in ARWU 2025 and #21 in U.S. News 2026. Its consensus position across the major rankings is #30 globally.