| Subject | QS | THE | ARWU | U.S. News |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth & Geosciences | #43 | — | #10 | #22 |
| Agriculture & Forestry | #19 | — | #101-150 | #124 |
| Business & Management | #151-200 | — | #22 | — |
| Archaeology | #51-100 | — | — | — |
| Development Studies | #51-100 | — | — | — |
| Marketing | #51-100 | — | — | — |
| Business & Economics | — | #87 | — | — |
| English Language & Literature | #100 | — | — | — |
| Architecture | #101-150 | — | — | — |
| Linguistics | #101-150 | — | — | — |
| Accounting & Finance | #101-150 | — | — | — |
| Environmental Science | #130 | — | #101-150 | #138 |
| Arts & Humanities | #144 | #101-125 | — | #151 |
| Education | #201-250 | #101-125 | #201-300 | — |
| Natural / Physical Sciences | #260 | #101-125 | — | — |
| Economics & Econometrics | #159 | — | #301-400 | #112 |
| Life Sciences & Medicine | #313 | #126-150 | — | — |
| Food Science & Technology | — | — | #151-200 | #149 |
| Psychology | #151-200 | #151-175 | #201-300 | #200 |
| Geography | #151-200 | — | #151-200 | — |
| Social Sciences & Management | #222 | #151-175 | — | — |
| Civil Engineering | — | — | #151-200 | — |
| Water Resources | — | — | #151-200 | — |
| Art & Design | #201-300 | — | — | — |
| Law | #201-250 | #251-300 | — | — |
| Political Science & IR | #251-300 | — | #201-300 | — |
| Public Health | — | — | #201-300 | #267 |
| Sociology | — | — | #201-300 | — |
| Modern Languages | #251-300 | — | — | — |
| Biological Sciences | #301-350 | — | #401-500 | — |
| Computer Science | #501-550 | #301-400 | — | — |
| Engineering & Technology | #383 | — | — | — |
| Mathematics | #401-450 | — | #401-500 | — |
| Chemistry | #451-500 | — | #401-500 | — |
| Medicine / Clinical | #551-600 | — | #401-500 | — |
| Electrical & Electronic Engineering | #451-500 | — | — | — |
University of Reading ranks #194 in QS 2026, #225 in THE 2026, #401-500 in ARWU 2025 and #385 in U.S. News 2026. Its consensus position across the major rankings is #319 globally.
QS weights employer reputation and international metrics more heavily; THE places more weight on research influence and teaching environment. Differences of this size between the two systems are common — see our methodology comparison.