Ranking is one of the tools for assessing the competitiveness of universities. There are regional and world rankings of agricultural universities and agricultural sciences. The QS World University Rankings is one of the most influential global university rankings. Only universities that offer all levels of education are included in the QS rating: bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees (or postgraduate studies in Russian practice). At the same time, the university should comprise at least two of the five areas of knowledge: the humanities and arts; engineering and technical sciences; natural sciences; medicine and life sciences; social sciences and management. Evaluation of the best universities in the world in the ranking is based on six criteria: academic reputation (an indicator based on a survey of professors and teachers); reputation among employers (invitations to participate in the survey are sent to companies of all industries ranging in size from one hundred employees and above); the ratio of teaching staff to the number of students (the source of this data is information provided by the universities themselves); citation index (the ratio of the number of published scientific publications to the number of teachers and researchers for whom the university is the main place of work for at least one semester); the proportion of foreign students (reflects the degree of attractiveness of an educational institution in the international arena); the proportion of foreign teachers and scientists (employees who have worked for at least three months, taking into account the percentage of the rate, are taken into account). The article analyzes the methodology of the QS World University Rankings by Subject: Agriculture & Forestry and Veterinary Science. The author gives an assessment of the best universities according to the rating agency QS. The results of this study can be used by top management of agricultural universities in the designing of growth strategy.