NTU placed 5th globally in THE rankings for interdisciplinary excellence
NTU’s excellence in interdisciplinary science research has been recognised globally in the latest Times Higher Education’s Interdisciplinary Science Rankings, in association with Schmidt Science Fellows, coming in fifth place this year.
NTU is the only university in Singapore and Asia in the global top five rankings dominated by American universities such as MIT, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, and the University of California, Berkeley.
This Interdisciplinary Science Rankings measures a university’s interdisciplinary scope in funding, processes, and outputs (publications, research quality and reputation).
NTU Deputy President and Provost Professor Christian Wolfrum said: “NTU’s placement in the top five of the Times Higher Education Interdisciplinary Science Rankings is a recognition of how far we have come in interdisciplinary research and education. NTU has long recognised that to tackle the toughest challenges in our society and the world, the solutions are found between disciplines and rarely fall within one discipline. Being interdisciplinary is at the heart of this university as we break down walls between disciplines, not just in research but also in education.”
NTU has numerous institutes and centres conducting multidisciplinary research to address complex challenges facing society today. There are more than 100 faculty members who hold joint appointments across schools or colleges, allowing them to draw upon expertise in different domains.
In the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list by Clarivate, half of the 33 NTU scientists were recognised for their work in interdisciplinary areas. These include areas such as computer science, materials science, clinical medicine, biology and biochemistry, chemistry, engineering, and physics.
Scientists on Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers list are those whose research publications are among the top 1 per cent, based on the number of citations for their fields and year
In education, NTU’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme offers PhD students opportunities to pursue multi- and inter- disciplinary PhD research programmes, where they concentrate on two or more disciplines, instead of one.
This emphasis on interdisciplinary science is also grounded at an undergraduate level, where students enrol in compulsory Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core modules to immerse them early in cross-discipline learning.
