Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) was shown to be internationally competitive in two of the five broad subject areas and 11 of the 51 specific subject areas in the 2022 QS World University Rankings by Subject, recently announced by the U.K.-based ranking agency QS (Quacquarelli Symonds).

Analysts say this continues the university's upward momentum in competitiveness after it placed second among national flagship universities in last year's QS Asia University Rankings and World University Rankings.

Among the five broad subject areas, Natural Sciences, which was in the 450s last year, rose substantially to 384th. The Engineering & Technology broad subject area entered the 400s, improving its position compared with last year.

Also, JBNU ranked in the early 200s globally in Agriculture and Forestry—a field in which it has traditionally been strong—and was ranked 4th domestically. Materials Science likewise placed in the early 200s worldwide and 9th nationally, demonstrating high competitiveness.

In Chemical Engineering, which was in the global 300s last year, the university rose into the 200s and ranked 11th domestically. It also ranked 10th nationally in Mechanical/Aerospace/Manufacturing Engineering, 11th in Life Sciences, 12th in Environmental Science, 13th in Chemistry, and 13th in Physics & Astronomy, each improving up to six places from last year and showcasing competitiveness across disciplines.

Notably, Environmental Science and Computer & Information Science—which were outside the world rankings until last year—entered the rankings (Computer & Information Science ranked 17th domestically).

Among the 51 specific subject areas evaluated, JBNU placed in the world rankings in 11 subjects, the third-largest number among national flagship universities.

By year, the number of subject areas entering the rankings has risen from eight in 2019 to nine in the past two years and 11 this year, demonstrating steadily increasing competitiveness.

President Kim Dong-won said, 'This evaluation shows that the university is developing world-class competitiveness across a range of disciplines,' and added, 'We expect this will be a major asset as the university strives to become a research-oriented institution that drives regional development.'

Meanwhile, the evaluation comprehensively assessed four areas—academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per paper, and the H-index, which measures researchers' productivity and impact—across 1,543 universities worldwide, according to U.K.-based QS.