When researching which university to apply to, it can be tricky to find out which institution is the best option for a particular subject. The 2012 rankings of Chinese universities by subject were released by China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center (CDGDC) on Jan. 29, 2013. Tsinghua University tops the list for design studies among the 54 participants in this field, with an overall score of 92.

The evaluation was carried out over the course of one full year and covered 4,235 disciplines across 391 Chinese universities and institutions. Objective indicators and subjective opinions were both included, based on the public data released by government sectors and social institutions, as well as the participants’ application materials. The opinions of professionals, government officials and other people from various business circles were also taken into consideration.

This is the third evaluation for particular subjects in the past ten years. The previous ones took place in 2004 and 2008, respectively.

Rankings for all subjects:

- Applied economics（應用經濟學）

- Architecture（建筑學）

- Business administration（工商管理）

- Chinese history（中國史）

- Chinese language and literature（中國語言文學）

- Civil engineering（土木工程）

- Computer science and technology（計算機科學與技術）

- Design（設計）

- Education（教育）

- Electronic science and technology（電子科學與技術）

- Environmental science and engineering（環境科學與工程）

- Foreign language and literature（外國語言文學）

- Information, communication engineering（信息與通信工程）

- Journalism and communication（新聞傳播）

- Law（法學）

- Mechanical engineering（機械工程）

- Music and dance（音樂與舞蹈）

- Politics（政治）

- Psychology（心理學）

- Sociology（社會學）

- Statistics（統計學）

- Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)（中醫）

The following are the top 10 Chinese universities for design studies, 2012.

 Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute（景德鎮陶瓷學院）

Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute [news.sina.com.cn]

Overall score: 77