Only one university in South Africa named among the top 150 in the world in new ranking
US News has published its new 2026/27 Best Global Universities ranking, which includes 15 South African universities that made the global top 2,000.
Remarkably, among the 15 ranked South African universities, the top performers largely improved their global positioning, with nine institutions climbing the rankings.
This includes the University of Cape Town, which again topped the local rankings, remaining the only South African university in the top 150 at 122nd overall.
This is followed by the University of the Witwatersrand, representing another South African university in the top 250, ranking 240th overall.
The universities of Johannesburg and Stellenbosch have entered the top 300, ranked 281st and 299th, respectively.
Notably, the University of Johannesburg has maintained its third-place spot in the local rankings, after climbing above Stellenbosch in 2025.
The Best Global Universities rankings evaluate more than 2,250 schools on academic research and reputation.
The rankings place specific emphasis on a university’s reputation, which is based on the quality of its publications and how they are cited globally.
While the 2026 ranking listed 15 South African universities, the same as in 2025, there were two changes in the local listing.
The University of Pretoria has improved above the University of KwaZulu-Natal, taking its spot as the fifth-highest ranked university on the list.
Lower down on the list, the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University—which debuted in the 2025 ranking—continued to improve, rising above the Tshwane University of Technology.
| Local rank | 2025 | 2026 | University |
| 1- | 124 | 122 | University of Cape Town |
| 2- | 265 | 240 | University of the Witwatersrand |
| 3- | 319 | 281 | University of Johannesburg |
| 4- | 322 | 299 | Stellenbosch University |
| 5⌃ | 460 | 417 | University of Pretoria |
| 6⌄ | 424 | 421 | University of KwaZulu-Natal |
| 7- | 588 | 588 | North West University |
| 8- | 714 | 657 | University of the Western Cape |
| 9- | 869 | 770 | University of South Africa |
| 10- | 974 | 1049 | University of the Free State |
| 11- | 1028 | 1174 | Rhodes University |
| 12- | 1259 | 1410 | Nelson Mandela University |
| 13- | 1456 | 1569 | Durban University of Technology |
| 14⌃ | 1849 | 1721 | Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University |
| 15⌄ | 1463 | 1888 | Tshwane University of Technology |
The methodology for the US News ranking assesses universities on 13 indicators to determine and measure global research performance.
These 13 indicators and their weights in the ranking formula can be found below:
| Ranking indicator | Weight |
| Global research reputation | 12.5% |
| Regional research reputation | 12.5% |
| Publications | 10% |
| Books | 2.5% |
| Conferences | 2.5% |
| Normalized citation impact | 10% |
| Total citations | 7.5% |
| Number of publications that are among the 10% most cited | 12.5% |
| Percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited | 10% |
| Percentage of total publications that are among the top 1% of most highly cited papers | 5% |
| International collaboration | 5% |
| Number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited in their respective field | 5% |
| Percentage of total publications that are among the top 1% most highly cited papers | 5% |
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