Rankings of universities in South Africa

Location of South Africa

Rankings of universities in South Africa are largely based on international university rankings, since there are no South African rankings as of yet.

These international university rankings indicate that South Africa's university system is the strongest on the continent: it is home to five of the six highest ranked African universities,[1] including the two campuses consistently ranked as academically strongest in Africa, University of Cape Town and University of the Witwatersrand,[2] which are situated in South Africa's two most prominent cities (Cape Town and Johannesburg, respectively).

Highly cited international university rankings

In part because of the inherent difficulty of ranking complex educational institutions, there are an expanding number of competing international university ranking schemes, each with a different emphasis. Four of the most prominent are the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (most widely accepted), The Centre for World University rankings (CWUR),QS World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU, sometimes referred to as the "Shanghai Rankings").

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

The 2018 edition of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings ranked the top South African universities as follows:[3]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
1171[4]University of Cape Town
2251-300[5]University of the Witwatersrand
3351–400[6]Stellenbosch University
4401-500[7]University of KwaZulu-Natal
5375 [8]University of Pretoria
6601-800[9]University of Johannesburg
7601-800[10]University of the Western Cape
8801-1000[11]University of South Africa

QS World University Rankings

The 2014-15 edition of the QS World University Rankings ranked the top South African universities as follows:

SA rankWorld rankUniversityArts & HumanitiesEngineering & ITLife Sciences & MedicineNatural ScienceSocial Sciences
1141[12]University of Cape Town108294100220116
2318[13]University of the Witwatersrand148249204280800000
3390[14]Stellenbosch University237268356283
4471–480[15]University of Pretoria283349241
5501–550[16]University of KwaZulu-Natal366

Previous years' world rankings are as follows (before 2010 the ranking was known as the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings):

SA rankUniversity20062007200820092010
1 University of Cape Town257200176146161æ
2 University of Witwatersrand322282319321360
3 Stellenbosch University
4 University of Pretoria509469501–600401–500451–500
5 University of KwaZulu-Natal484487401–500501–600501–550

ARWU/Shanghai

The 2015 Academic Ranking of World Universities has ranked the top South African universities as follows:

SA rankUniversity 2014[17] 2013[18] 2012[19] 2010[20] 2009[21] 2008[22] 2007[23] 2006[24] 2005[25] 2004[26] 2003[27]
1 University of Cape Town201–300201–300201–300201–300201–302201–302203–304201–300203–300202–301251–300
2 University of the Witwatersrand201–300301–400301–400301–400303–401303–401305–402301–400301–400302–403451–500
3 Stellenbosch University401–500401–500401–500401–500402–501402–503403–510401–500401–500404–502451–500
4 University of KwaZulu-Natal401–500

Note: These are the only ranked South African universities.

Center for World University Rankings (CWUR)

The 2015 edition of CWUR ranked the top South African Universities as follows:[28]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
1149University of the Witwatersrand
2248University of Cape Town
3401University of KwaZulu-Natal
4500Stellenbosch University
5678University of Pretoria

International Rankings for Additional Context

University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP)

URAP, which is a newer ranking scheme based solely on quantitative measures of academic productivity, includes data for a larger number of global universities, and thus gives an alternative view of the relative standing of more South African institutions. The 2016-2017 edition of URAP ranked the top South African Universities as follows:[29]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
1240University of Cape Town
2316University of Witwatersrand
3369University of KwaZulu-Natal
4418Stellenbosch University
5459University of Pretoria
6706University of Johannesburg
7796North-West University
8906University of the Western Cape
91061Rhodes University
101081University of the Free State
111121University of South Africa
121311Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
131511Tshwane University of Technology
141904University of Limpopo
151907Cape Peninsula University of Technology
161924Durban University of Technology

Business-oriented rankings

Several international rankings schemes focus on the placement of graduates in business settings.

Times Higher Education Alma Mater Index

This is another THE ranking which aims to measure the real world success of a University's alumni by ranking Universities according to the number of their graduates that are currently CEOs of Fortune Global 500 companies. The global number one for 2017 is by a considerable margin, Harvard University. The only African University that appears on the Global top 100 is the University of the Witwatersrand. The 2017 South African rankings are as follows:[30]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
254University of the Witwatersrand

Tredence-Emerging Global Employability University Ranking

This is a global ranking of universities by the perceived quality of their graduates by top employers around the world. The only African university in the top 150 is the University of the Witwatersrand. The 2013 ranking is as follows:[31]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
1139University of the Witwatersrand

Bloomberg Billionaire Ranking

This ranks universities according to their popularity among US based billionaires. The only ranked South African university is the University of the Witwatersrand. The 2014 ranking is as follows:[32]

SA RankWorld RankUniversity
18University of the Witwatersrand

Additional context on South African higher educational institutions

2010 Centre for Higher Education Transformation report

A 2010 report by Centre for Higher Education Transformation identified 3 different university clusters in South Africa, grouped according to function. The input variables used to group universities were:

  • Percentage of headcount enrolment in science, engineering and technology
  • Masters and doctoral enrolments
  • Student to staff ratios
  • Permanent staff with doctoral degrees
  • Private and government income
  • Student fee income

The output variables were:

  • Student success rates
  • Graduation rates
  • Weighted research output units per permanent staff member

The Red cluster constitutes the top research-intensive universities. The Blue cluster consists of institutions focused primarily on technical training, while the Green cluster includes institutions which show characteristics of both missions. The clusters are:[33]

Red Cluster Green Cluster Blue Cluster
University of the Witwatersrand University of the Free State Vaal University of Technology
Stellenbosch University University of KwaZulu-Natal Central University of Technology
University of Cape Town North-West University Durban University of Technology
University of Pretoria University of Fort Hare Mangosuthu University of Technology
Rhodes University University of Limpopo Tshwane University of Technology
University of the Western Cape Cape Peninsula University of Technology
University of Johannesburg University of Venda
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Walter Sisulu University
University of Zululand

References

  1. http://www.urapcenter.org/2013/region.php?rcode=AF
  2. "World Rankings - Africa 2013-14". University Ranings. Times Higher Education. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  3. , Times Higher Education World University Rankings, accessed 14 January 2018
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  5. "Times Higher Education World University Rankings - University of the Witwatersrand". Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  6. "Times Higher Education World University Rankings - University of South Africa University". Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  7. "Times Higher Education World University Rankings - University of KwaZulu-Natal". Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  8. "Times Higher Education World University Rankings - University of Pretoria". Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  9. "Times Higher Education World University Rankings - University of Johannesburg". Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  10. "Times Higher Education World University Rankings - University of the Western Cape". Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  11. "Times Higher Education World University Rankings - University of South Africa". Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  12. "University of Cape Town". Top Universities. QS Quacquarelli Symonds. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  13. "University of Johannesburg". Top Universities. QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  14. "University of Stellenbosch". Top Universities. QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  15. "University of Pretoria". Top Universities. QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  16. "University of KwaZulu-Natal". Top Universities. QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  17. "South Africa Universities in Top 500 - 2014". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  18. "South Africa Universities in Top 500 - 2013". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  19. "South Africa Universities in Top 500 - 2010". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  20. "South Africa Universities in Top 500 - 2010". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  21. "South Africa Universities in Top 500 - 2009". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  22. "South Africa Universities in Top 500 - 2008". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  23. "South Africa Universities in Top 500 - 2007". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  24. "South Africa Universities in Top 500 - 2006". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  25. "South Africa Universities in Top 500 - 2005". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  26. "ARWU 2004". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  27. "ARWU 2003". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  28. "CWUR 2014 - South Africa". Top Universities. Center for World University Rankings. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  29. "URAP - University Ranking by Academic Performance". Top Universities. Informatics Institute of Middle East Technical University. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  30. "THE Alma Mater Index:Global Executives 2013". University Rankings. Times Higher Education. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  31. "Global Employability University Ranking 2013". University Ranings. Emerging. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  32. "Bloomberg Best (and Worst)". University Rankings. Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  33. McGregor, Karen (23 May 2010). "SOUTH AFRICA: New university clusters emerge". University World News. Retrieved 11 June 2010.

https://www.4icu.org/topAfrica/

See also

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