| Subject | QS | THE | ARWU | U.S. News |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Law | #201-250 | #71 | #101-150 | — |
| Geography | #101-150 | — | — | — |
| Communication & Media | #101-150 | — | #101-150 | — |
| Political Science & IR | #101-150 | — | #201-300 | — |
| Sports Science | #101-150 | — | — | — |
| Education | #201-250 | #126-150 | #401-500 | — |
| Social Sciences & Management | #371 | #126-150 | — | — |
| Medicine / Clinical | #251-300 | — | #151-200 | #141 |
| Archaeology | #151-200 | — | — | — |
| Architecture | #151-200 | — | — | — |
| Earth & Geosciences | — | — | #151-200 | #226 |
| Civil Engineering | — | — | #151-200 | — |
| Arts & Humanities | #373 | #176-200 | — | — |
| Clinical & Health | — | #176-200 | — | — |
| Sociology | #201-250 | — | — | — |
| Pharmacy & Pharmacology | #251-300 | — | #201-300 | — |
| Psychology | #301-350 | #201-250 | #301-400 | #244 |
| Energy Science & Engineering | — | — | #201-300 | #206 |
| Dentistry | — | — | #201-300 | — |
| Physics & Astronomy | #301-350 | — | #301-400 | #224 |
| Biological Sciences | #251-300 | — | #301-400 | #277 |
| Life Sciences & Medicine | #283 | #251-300 | — | — |
| Engineering & Technology | #357 | #251-300 | — | #403 |
| Natural / Physical Sciences | #357 | #251-300 | — | — |
| Business & Economics | — | #251-300 | — | — |
| Public Health | — | — | #301-400 | #260 |
| English Language & Literature | #301-350 | — | — | — |
| Linguistics | #301-350 | — | — | — |
| Chemistry | #301-350 | — | #401-500 | — |
| Computer Science | #351-400 | #301-400 | — | #363 |
| Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering | #351-400 | — | #301-400 | — |
| Environmental Science | #351-400 | — | #301-400 | — |
| Automation & Control | — | — | #301-400 | — |
| Biotechnology | — | — | #301-400 | — |
| Chemical Engineering | #351-400 | — | — | — |
| Electrical & Electronic Engineering | #351-400 | — | — | #489 |
| Materials Science | #351-400 | — | — | — |
| Mathematics | #351-400 | — | — | — |
| Business & Management | — | — | #401-500 | — |
| Economics & Econometrics | #501-550 | — | — | — |
Vrije Universiteit Brussel ranks #294 in QS 2026, #225 in THE 2026, #301-400 in ARWU 2025 and #349 in U.S. News 2026. Its consensus position across the major rankings is #296 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.