All the best subjects to study at South Africa’s top universities
The latest QS World University Rankings has listed all the subjects that South Africa’s top universities excel at – ranking among the top 500 courses in the world.
The report covers 42 subjects in arts and humanities; engineering and technology; life sciences and medicine; natural sciences; and social sciences.
South African universities stand out for their expertise in development studies, QS said, while South Africa’s top-ranked university – the University of Cape Town – ranked within the top 100 globally for 10 subjects.
These include Anatomy and physiology, English language and literature, Law and Education, among others.
UCT has 36 subjects ranked among the top 500 global universities, followed by Wits with 23 subjects, Stellenbosch University with 17 subjects, and University of Pretoria with 15 subjects.
The University of Kwazulu-Natal, University of Johannesburg and Rhodes University also had a few (under 10) subjects ranked in the top 500. With the exception of the University of Pretoria, all SA universities are strongest in developmental studies.
UP’s strongest subjects are agriculture and forestry and law – though neither of these subjects are among the top 100 universities in the world.
The following tables break down the best subjects at each South African university ranked by QS, along with where the universities placed among the global top 500. Subjects in the top 100, globally, have been highlighted.
University of Cape Town
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Developmental studies | 10 |
| Geography | 47 |
| Anatomy and physiology | 51-100 |
| Anthropology | 51-100 |
| Archaeology | 51-100 |
| Architecture | 51-100 |
| Education | 51-100 |
| English language and literature | 51-100 |
| Law | 51-100 |
| Sport-relates subjects | 51-100 |
| Agriculture and forestry | 101-150 |
| Earth and marine sciences | 101-150 |
| Environmental sciences | 101-150 |
| History | 101-150 |
| Medicine | 101-150 |
| Politics and International studies | 101-150 |
| Sociology | 101-150 |
| Art and design | 151-200 |
| Civil and structural engineering | 151-200 |
| Communication and media studies | 151-200 |
| Pharmacy and Pharmacology | 151-200 |
| Psychology | 151-200 |
| Biological sciences | 201-250 |
| Business and management studies | 201-250 |
| Linguistics | 201-250 |
| Physics and astronomy | 201-250 |
| Chemical engineering | 251-300 |
| Economics and econometrics | 251-300 |
| Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing engineering | 251-300 |
| Modern languages | 251-300 |
| Electrical engineering | 301-350 |
| Mathematics | 301-350 |
| Chemistry | 351-400 |
| Computer science | 351-400 |
University of the Witwatersrand
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Developmental studies | 18 |
| Anthropology | 51-100 |
| Archaeology | 51-100 |
| English language and literature | 101-150 |
| Geography | 101-150 |
| Law | 101-150 |
| Politics and International studies | 101-150 |
| Communication and media studies | 151-200 |
| Earth and marine sciences | 151-200 |
| History | 151-200 |
| Medicine | 151-200 |
| Agriculture and forestry | 201-250 |
| Education | 201-250 |
| Pharmacy and Pharmacology | 201-250 |
| Sociology | 201-250 |
| Business and management studies | 251-300 |
| Chemical engineering | 251-300 |
| Psychology | 251-300 |
| Biological sciences | 351-400 |
| Economics and econometrics | 351-400 |
| Mathematics | 351-400 |
| Physics and astronomy | 351-400 |
| Chemistry | 401-450 |
Stellenbosch University
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Developmental studies | 42 |
| Agriculture and forestry | 51-100 |
| Geography | 151-200 |
| Law | 151-200 |
| Politics and International studies | 151-200 |
| Education | 201-250 |
| English language and literature | 201-250 |
| Biological sciences | 251-300 |
| Business and management studies | 251-300 |
| Environmental sciences | 251-300 |
| Linguistics | 251-300 |
| Pharmacy and Pharmacology | 251-300 |
| Psychology | 251-300 |
| Economics and econometrics | 301-350 |
| Medicine | 301-350 |
| Chemistry | 351-400 |
| Physics and astronomy | 451-500 |
University of Pretoria
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Agriculture and forestry | 101-150 |
| Law | 101-150 |
| Accounting and finance | 151-200 |
| Archaeology | 151-200 |
| Architecture | 151-200 |
| Education | 201-250 |
| Chemical engineering | 251-300 |
| Economics and econometrics | 251-300 |
| English language and literature | 251-300 |
| Sociology | 251-300 |
| Biological sciences | 301-350 |
| Electrical engineering | 301-350 |
| Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing engineering | 301-350 |
| Medicine | 301-350 |
| Computer science | 401-450 |
University of KwaZulu-Natal
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Developmental studies | 51-100 |
| Agriculture and forestry | 151-200 |
| Education | 251-300 |
| Medicine | 301-350 |
| Biological sciences | 401-450 |
| Chemistry | 401-450 |
University of Johannesburg
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Developmental studies | 51-100 |
| Geography | 151-200 |
| Law | 201-250 |
| Education | 251-300 |
Rhodes University
| Subject | Global ranking |
|---|---|
| Communication and media studies | 151-200 |
| English language and literature | 201-250 |
The QS subject rankings are based on a mix of survey responses and hard data, compiled and weighted to formulate a final score.
This includes academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per paper, the h-index (an index that measures both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar) as well as insight from discipline-level experts and specialists.
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