The best subjects to study at SA’s top universities

The latest edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject has been released, featuring seven South African universities with courses that are among the top 500 in the world.

The QS rankings identifies which subjects universities are particularly strong in relation to international competitors.

For South Africa, Arts & Humanities is the broad subject area with the greatest university representation (6 total universities).

At the specific subject level, Agriculture & Forestry (6), Chemistry (6), Medicine (5), Engineering – Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing (5), Biological Sciences (5), Economics & Econometrics (5), and Physics & Astronomy (5) are the disciplines for which the most universities in South Africa are recognised.

South Africa’s performance

South Africa ranks 2nd in Middle East & Africa and 40th in the world in terms of the total number of universities included in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019.

Of the academic disciplines from universities in South Africa that are in both the 2019 and 2018 rankings, 21% improved their positions in the rankings, 24% decreased, and 54% stayed the same.

Universities in South Africa appear in 39 of the 48 specific subject areas covered in the 2019 ranking (81%).

University of Cape Town, University of The Witwatersrand, and Stellenbosch University are the universities that appear most frequently in the subject lists.

Three universities in South Africa earned the distinction of being ranked in the top 50 for three distinct subjects:

The University of Cape Town ranks 9th in the world for Development Studies, with Wits ranking 18th
Wits ranked 13th overall for Mineral and Mining Engineering, and
The University of Pretoria ranked 43rd in the world for its Veterinary Sciences programme.

These are the best subjects at South Africa’s universities. Subjects within the top 100 have been highlighted.

University of Cape Town

Subject	Global ranking
Development Studies	9
Sport-related Studies	51-100
Geography	51-100
Anatomy and Physiology	51-100
Archaeology	51-100
Architecture	51-100
Social Policy and Administration	51-100
Anthropology	51-100
Education and Training	51-100
English Language and Literature	101-150
Agriculture and Forestry	101-150
Law and Legal Studies	101-150
Medicine	101-150
Politics	101-150
Communications and Media Studies	101-150
History	101-150
Environmental Studies	101-150
Linguistics	101-150
Pharmacy and Pharmacology	101-150
Sociology	151-200
Earth and Marine Science	151-200
Biological Science	151-200
Engineering – Civil and Structural	151-200
Art and Design	151-200
Psychology	151-200
Statistics	151-200
Accounting and Finance	201-250
Business and Management Studies	201-250
Physics and Astronomy	201-250
Engineering – Chemical	201-250
Engineering – Mechanical	201-250
Economics and Econometrics	201-250
Modern Languages	201-250
Engineering – Electrical and Electronic	251-300
Computer Science and Information Systems	301-350
Chemistry	351-400

University of the Witwatersrand

Subject	Global ranking
Engineering – Mineral and Mining	13
Development Studies	18
Archaeology	51-100
Anthropology	51-100
Earth and Marine Science	101-150
Geography	151-200
English Language and Literature	151-200
Architecture	151-200
Medicine	151-200
Politics	151-200
Linguistics	151-200
Education and Training	201-250
Sociology	201-250
Law and Legal Studies	251-300
Pharmacy and Pharmacology	251-300
Engineering – Chemical	251-300
Agriculture and Forestry	251-300
Biological Sciences	351-400
Physics and Astronomy	401-450
Business and Management Studies	401-450
Chemistry	451-500

Stellenbosch University

Subject	Global ranking
Development Studies	51-100
Theology and Religious Studies	51-100
Agriculture and Forestry	51-100
Geography	151-200
Linguistics	151-200
Politics and International Studies	151-200
Law and Legal Studies	201-250
Education and Training	201-250
Environmental Studies	201-250
English Language and Literature	251-300
Engineering – Chemical	251-300
Biological Sciences	251-300
Engineering – Mechanical	251-300
Pharmacy and Pharmacology	251-300
Modern Languages	251-300
Business and Management Studies	301-350
Economics and Econometrics	351-400
Chemistry	401-450
Physics and Astronomy	451-500
Computer Science and Information Systems	451-500

University of Pretoria

Subject	Global ranking
Veterinary Science	43
Theology and Religious Studies	51-100
Agriculture and Forestry	101-150
Archaeology	151-200
Architecture	151-200
Education and Training	201-250
Sociology	201-250
Law and Legal Studies	251-300
Engineering – Chemical	251-300
Engineering – Mechanical	251-300
Engineering – Electrical and Electronic	301-350
Economics and Econometrics	301-350
Medicine	301-350
Biological Sciences	301-350
Computer Science and Information Systems	500-550
Chemistry	500-550

University of KwaZulu Natal

Subject	Global ranking
Development Studies	51-100
Theology and Religious Studies	51-100
Agriculture and Forestry	251-300
Education and Training	251-300
Chemistry	351-400
Medicine	351-400
Physics and Astronomy	401-450
Biological Sciences	451-500