Federico II University in the GRAS 2026: Eight Disciplines Ranked Among the Top 100 in the World

In 2026, the University of Naples Federico II reaffirms its significant presence in ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS), the international ranking that evaluates universities by individual academic discipline rather than as a whole.

Federico II is ranked in 35 of the 57 disciplines considered by GRAS. Globally, the ranking examines approximately 20,000 academic disciplines from about 2,000 universities across roughly 100 countries and regions.

Eight disciplines at Federico II are ranked within the top 100 globally: Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, ranked 6th; Aerospace Engineering, ranked 43rd; Marine/Ocean Engineering, ranked 51–75; Agricultural Sciences, 51–75; Veterinary Sciences, 51–75; Physics, 76–100; Civil Engineering, 76–100; and Dentistry & Oral Sciences, 76–100.

Marine/Ocean Engineering moved from the 76–100 range in 2025 to the 51–75 range in 2026, tied with the University of Genoa— the only Italian universities included in the category’s ranking—while Dentistry & Oral Sciences rises from the 101–150 range to the 76–100 range , ranking first overall among Italian universities. Veterinary Sciences, on the other hand, maintains its position in the 51–75 bracket, confirming the result from the previous edition.

Of particular interest is the result for the School of Dentistry. In the 2026 GRAS, Federico II is ranked in the 76–100 range globally for Dentistry & Oral Sciences, an improvement of one band compared to 2025. The ranking considers 300 universities in this discipline, selected based on a minimum threshold of 50 publications during the 2021–2025 period.

This result is supported by various research indicators. The ShanghaiRanking methodology assigns significant weight to the “World-Class Faculty” category, which takes into account the presence of international academic awards, highly cited researchers, editors of international scientific journals, and leadership roles in academic organizations. For Dentistry & Oral Sciences, the evaluation also includes the publication of articles in Q1 journals, citation impact, and international collaboration.

A similar trend is observed in Marine/Ocean Engineering, which represents one of the University’s most notable improvements compared to the previous edition. In the GRAS 2026, Federico II ranks in the 51–75 range globally, whereas in 2025 it was in the 76–100 range. The University thus joins the top 100 institutions considered by the ranking in this field.

This data pertains to a field in which research is evaluated through a combination of bibliometric and impact indicators. The GRAS considers, among other factors, the presence of internationally renowned researchers, high-quality scientific output, articles published in Q1 journals, normalized citation impact, and international collaboration. For 2026, the bibliometric data are based on publications from the 2021–2025 period.

However, the GRAS remains a discipline-specific ranking that is strongly focused on research and its bibliometric aspects. The methodology uses nine indicators, grouped into five categories: quality of the academic faculty, scientific output of excellence, high-quality research, research impact, and international collaboration. Factors considered include publications in high-impact journals, Q1 articles, normalized citations, and publications resulting from international collaborations. For 2026, the bibliometric data primarily cover the 2021–2025 period and are sourced from Web of Science and InCites.