US News & World Report has released the 2018 Best Global Universities rankings – which includes a list of the top 11 tertiary learning institutions in South Africa.
Scholarshipnations.com -The overall rankings evaluate 1,250 universities – up from 1,000 last year – across 74 countries and are the largest and most comprehensive assessment of research universities worldwide, it says.
In addition to rankings of the world’s top 1,250 universities overall and by region and country, the rankings include an examination of the leaders in key academic subject areas. US News used a separate methodology to publish the top global universities in 22 subject areas.
These subject-specific rankings – which are not of academic majors, departments or specific schools at universities, such as business or medical schools – are based on academic research performance in those subjects. US News has used various bibliometric measures, including publications and citations, as well as indicators for global and regional reputation in each specific subject.
The bibliometric indicators are based on data from the Web of Science for the five-year period from 2011-2015. The Web of Science is a web-based research platform that covers more than 18,000 of the most influential and authoritative scholarly journals worldwide in the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
Top Universities in South Africa:
Top Universities in South Africa:
| SA # | Global # | University |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 113 | University of Cape Town |
| 2 | 216 | University of Witwatersrand |
| 3 | 336= | University of Kwa-Zulu Natal |
| 4 | 359= | Stellenbosch University |
| 5 | 453= | University of Pretoria |
| 6 | 457= | University of Johannesburg |
| 7 | 731= | University of the Western Cape |
| 8 | 781= | North-West University |
| 9 | 925= | Rhodes University |
| 10 | 1019= | University of the Free State |
| 11 | 1034= | University of South Africa |
South Africa’s second placed institution, the University of the Witwatersrand, scored in seven of the report’s 22 subjects, including Social Sciences and Public Health (69th globally) while it also scored favourably in several medical subjects.
Other noticeable performances by local universities included: Stellenbosch University for agricultural related subjects in Agricultural Sciences (90th) and Environment/Ecology (125th), while the University of Pretoria scored well for Plant and Animal Science (63rd).
Ranking by subject
University of Cape Town
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Immunology | 52 |
| Microbiology | 65 |
| Social Sciences and Public Health | 81 |
| Clinical Medicine | 91 |
| Environment/Ecology | 113 |
| Plant and Animal Science | 130 |
| Space Science | 149 |
| Psychiatry/Psychology | 150 |
| Arts and Humanities | 151 |
| Geosciences | 171 |
| Physics | 178 |
| Biology and Chemistry | 252 |
| Engineering | 483 |
| Chemistry | 532 |
Stellenbosch University
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Agricultural Sciences | 90 |
| Environment/Ecology | 125 |
| Plant and Animal Science | 142 |
| Immunology | 154 |
| Clinical Medicine | 292 |
| Social Sciences and Public Health | 292 |
| Biology and Biochemistry | 386 |
| Physics | 565 |
| Chemistry | 568 |
University of the Witwatersrand
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Social Sciences and Public Health | 69 |
| Immunology | 111 |
| Clinical Medicine | 144 |
| Arts and Humanities | 172 |
| Physics | 240 |
| Plant and Animal Science | 321 |
| Engineering | 397 |
University of KwaZulu Natal
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Immunology | 121 |
| Plant and Animal Science | 214 |
| Social Sciences and Public Health | 230 |
| Clinical Medicine | 301 |
| Physics | 343 |
| Chemistry | 350 |
| Engineering | 422 |
University of Pretoria
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Plant and Animal Science | 63 |
| Microbiology | 125 |
| Agricultural Sciences | 194 |
| Social Sciences and Public Health | 348 |
| Engineering | 357 |
| Clinical Medicine | 529 |
University of Johannesburg
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Physics | 320 |
| Social Sciences and Public Health | 372 |
| Chemistry | 506 |
University of the Western Cape
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Space Science | 172 |
| Social Sciences and Public Health | 314 |
North West University
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Space Science | 172 |
| Social Sciences and Public Health | 314 |
Rhodes University
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Plant and Animal Science | 334 |
Credit : https://businesstech.co.za/
