University rankings: Elite British institutions top list of world's best for academic disciplines

The new survey shows Britain remains well ahead of its closest rivals

Elite universities in Britain have once again come out on top in world rankings (Getty)

Elite universities in Britain have once again come out on top in world rankings, according to a new table which compares universities by faculty.

Cambridge was ranked in the world’s top 10 in 31 different subjects, more than any other in the world, according to the QS World University Rankings.

Oxford took joint second place with Stanford University, with both featured in the global top 10. Harvard followed closely with 28 subjects.

The new survey shows Britain remains well ahead of its closest rivals, with only the US boasting more world-leading institutions by subject.

QS world university rankings:

• University of Cambridge

• University of Oxford

• Stanford University

• Harvard University

• University of California

• Berkeley

• MIT

• London School of Economics

• Princeton

• UCLA

Britain also has more leading universities than it did in 2014 for specific subjects.

Oxford was top for languages and geography, Cambridge triumphed in English literature and language, and Sussex proved itself in development studies.

Specialist institutions such as the Institute of Education, London Business School and the Royal College of Arts also did well, arriving at the top of the rankings for education, business and management studies, and art and design respectively.

Britain's strengths continue to lie in arts and humanities. 17 universities ranked in the top 30 including Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Warwick and UCL.

Universities must have undergraduate or postgraduate courses in relevant subjects to qualify.

Rankings are calculated by combining the results of surveys of 85,000 academics and almost 42,000 employers, as well as analysis of millions of research papers and academic citations.