The Informatics Institute recently published its Universal Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) for subjects, listing the world’s top universities according to how they excel in various fields of study.
The ranking lists the top 1,000 universities in the world across 61 fields of study (some rankings are limited to top 500 or top 200, depending on how narrow the field is), with 12 South African universities ranked in 38 of them.
The University of Cape Town was by far the top performer in the country, ranking among the world’s best in 32 of the 61 subjects – having a unique placing in four of them.
Stellenbosch University is the second-best performer, ranking in 24 subjects, followed by the University of Pretoria (22 subjects), and Wits University and the University of KwaZulu Natal tied, being ranked in 21 fields, each.
However, where UKZN stands apart from Wits is its unique placing in three subjects where no other South African universities featured. Where Wits stands out, is its top 10 placing for Anthropology and Archeology – the only South African university to rank within the top 10 at all for any subject
University of Cape Town
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Archeology | 14 |
Anthropology | 19 |
Human Movement and Sports Sciences | 62 |
Marine Sciences and Technology | 77 |
Studies in Human Society | 86 |
Veterinary Sciences | 108 |
Environmental Sciences | 118 |
Urban Planning | 130 |
Philosophy | 132 |
Earth Sciences | 143 |
Astronomy and Astrophysics | 149 |
Agriculture | 149 |
Psychology | 150 |
Zoology | 153 |
Sociology | 155 |
Medical and Health Sciences | 159 |
Historical Studies | 175 |
Biological Sciences | 176 |
Geology | 191 |
Education | 204 |
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences | 208 |
Language, Communication and Culture | 212 |
Pharmacology and Pharmacy | 265 |
Economics | 314 |
Neurosciences | 320 |
Molecular Biology and Genetics | 337 |
Physical Sciences | 372 |
Technology | 497 |
Mathematical Sciences | 593 |
Engineering | 695 |
Information and Computing Sciences | 749 |
Chemical Sciences | 787 |
Stellenbosch University
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Zoology | 85 |
Agriculture | 95 |
Historical Studies | 110 |
Food Engineering | 112 |
Environmental Sciences | 152 |
Philosophy | 158 |
Language, Communication and Culture | 219 |
Biological Sciences | 227 |
Psychology | 260 |
Education | 278 |
Studies in Human Society | 311 |
Medical and Health Sciences | 328 |
Geology | 337 |
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences | 353 |
Earth Sciences | 354 |
Economics | 425 |
Molecular Biology and Genetics | 436 |
Pharmacology and Pharmacy | 452 |
Engineering | 465 |
Mathematical Sciences | 567 |
Technology | 599 |
Chemical Sciences | 713 |
Information and Computing Sciences | 724 |
Physical Sciences | 805 |
University of Pretoria
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Veterinary Sciences | 47 |
Zoology | 49 |
Agriculture | 127 |
Language, Communication and Culture | 137 |
Archeology | 167 |
Anthropology | 177 |
Biological Sciences | 231 |
Environmental Sciences | 254 |
Economics | 255 |
Studies in Human Society | 349 |
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services | 394 |
Engineering | 435 |
Molecular Biology and Genetics | 447 |
Medical and Health Sciences | 449 |
Earth Sciences | 464 |
Geology | 467 |
Information and Computing Sciences | 475 |
Technology | 570 |
Mathematical Sciences | 575 |
Electrical and Electronic Engineering | 633 |
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences | 714 |
Chemical Sciences | 852 |
University of KwaZulu Natal
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Zoology | 107 |
Philosophy | 144 |
Astronomy and Astrophysics | 150 |
Agriculture | 198 |
Environmental Sciences | 241 |
Environmental Engineering | 268 |
Biological Sciences | 270 |
Physical Sciences | 274 |
Studies in Human Society | 323 |
Medical and Health Sciences | 330 |
Pharmacology and Pharmacy | 333 |
Geology | 339 |
Earth Sciences | 351 |
Engineering | 392 |
Chemical Sciences | 395 |
Chemical Engineering | 411 |
Mechanical Engineering | 491 |
Mathematical Sciences | 530 |
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences | 548 |
Electrical and Electronic Engineering | 664 |
Technology | 684 |
Wits University
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Archeology | 4 |
Anthropology | 5 |
Studies in Human Society | 74 |
Zoology | 89 |
Language, Communication and Culture | 157 |
Geology | 166 |
Earth Sciences | 186 |
Medical and Health Sciences | 216 |
Biological Sciences | 310 |
Agriculture | 337 |
Psychology | 378 |
Environmental Sciences | 381 |
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences | 422 |
Pharmacology and Pharmacy | 426 |
Economics | 441 |
Mathematical Sciences | 460 |
Physical Sciences | 600 |
Technology | 606 |
Engineering | 623 |
Electrical and Electronic Engineering | 695 |
Chemical Sciences | 908 |
University of Johannesburg
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Studies in Human Society | 267 |
Geology | 320 |
Earth Sciences | 371 |
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services | 385 |
Chemical Sciences | 546 |
Physical Sciences | 654 |
Engineering | 777 |
Biological Sciences | 804 |
Technology | 907 |
North-West University
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Zoology | 199 |
Education | 274 |
Psychology | 410 |
Pharmacology and Pharmacy | 487 |
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences | 552 |
Medical and Health Sciences | 696 |
Physical Sciences | 720 |
Chemical Sciences | 873 |
Rhodes University
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Marine Sciences and Technology | 163 |
Agriculture | 379 |
Environmental Sciences | 402 |
Biological sciences | 656 |
Physical Sciences | 721 |
Chemical Sciences | 969 |
University of the Free State
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Agriculture | 497 |
Physical Sciences | 873 |
Biological Sciences | 933 |
Chemical Sciences | 945 |
Technology | 962 |
University of the Western Cape
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Astronomy and Astrophysics | 162 |
Physical Sciences | 494 |
Medical and Health Sciences | 843 |
Chemical Sciences | 934 |
Nelson Mandela University
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Environmental Sciences | 428 |
Agriculture | 478 |
Biological Sciences | 724 |
Tshwane University of Technology
Subject | Ranking |
---|---|
Engineering | 972 |