The best universities in South Africa to study these subjects

ShanghaiRanking has published its Global Ranking of Academic Subjects report for 2022 ranking the top tertiary institutions globally by the quality of their subject offerings.

The Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2022, claims to represent the most comprehensive and objective ranking of world universities by subjects.

This year league table contains rankings of universities in 54 subjects across Natural Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, and Social Sciences. More than 1,800 out of 5,000 universities across 96 countries and regions were finally listed in the rankings.

The ranking includes 12 universities from South Africa, which rank among the top 500 universities in the world in 33 subjects, out of the 54 tracked by the group.

South African universities largely fall outside the top 100 global universities for most subjects, but there are a few standouts.

The University of Cape Town is the most ranked university in the country, featuring in 21 subject rankings, including being the only local university ranked for Oceanography, where it placed in the top 75, and for Environmental Sciences, where it ranked in the top 25.

UCT is followed by Stellenbosh University, which is featured in 15 subject rankings. Stellies is the only South African university to be ranked for Food Science and Technology, where it placed in the top 150 schools, and for Communication, where it ranked among the top 300.

The University of Pretoria and the University of the Witwatersrand tied for third locally, each featuring in 12 subject rankings. UP is uniquely featured in three subjects in South Africa. It is the only local university to rank in Mechanical Engineering (top 200), Finance (top 200) and Engineering Science and Engineering (top 400).

The University of Johannesburg and the University of KwaZulu Natal also tied – featuring in 10 subject rankings.

UJ was uniquely ranked in three subjects – Sociology (top 200), Public Administration (top 200) and Management (top 400) – and also has the top honour of achieving the highest ranking in a subject out of all local universities, ranking 9th in the world for Hospitality and Tourism Management.

The tables below outline the top-ranked subjects at all South African universities featured in the ranking. Top 100 subjects are bolded, and unique subjects rankings are highlighted in green.

University of Cape Town 

Stellenbosch University 

University of Pretoria 

University of the Witwatersrand 

University of Johannesburg 

University of KwaZulu Natal 

North-West University 

Nelson Mandela University 

University of the Western Cape 

Tshwane University of Technology

Rhodes University

University of South Africa (Unisa)

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