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 |
University of Johannesburg
Subject | Global ranking |
---|---|
Engineering – Mechanical | 351-400 |
Physics and Astronomy | 451-500 |
Economics and Econometrics | 451-500 |
Business and Management Studies | 451-500 |
Chemistry | 501-550 |
University of the Free State
Subject | Global ranking |
---|---|
Agriculture and Forestry | 251-300 |
Read: Big changes coming to South African university applications
Join the conversation Autoload comments
Comments section policy: