The Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University has released its 2016 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), presenting the world\u2019s top 500 universities \u2013 including four South African institutions.<\/p>\n
For the 14th year in a row, Harvard University in the USA was ranked as the world\u2019s top university, claiming the top spot in many of the fields covered in the ranking.<\/p>\n
In South Africa, there were two big changes in the 2016 ranking – Wits’ average score pushed past UCT, making it the top-ranked university in the country, followed by the former number one.<\/p>\n
The second development comes as Stellenbosch’s score pushed it ahead of former number three, the University of KwaZulu Natal.<\/p>\n
This makes Wits the top of its second major global university ranking, having\u00a0been ranked as the top university in South Africa for the third year in a row in the 2016 Center for World University Rankings (CWUR)<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The CWUR list is determined by looking at how many university alumni and faculty members have won international awards, and who currently hold top executive jobs.<\/p>\n Wits again ranked highest on the list for South Africa, at 176th with a score of 48.11. This is down from\u00a0its position in 2015 (149th), though\u00a0a far reach from its highest point in 2014 (114th).<\/p>\n Here’s how South Africa’s universities fared in the ARWU ranking:<\/p>\n The Shanghai rankings work by assigning the\u00a0highest scoring institution\u00a0(Harvard)\u00a0a score of 100, and other institutions are calculated as a percentage of the top score.<\/p>\n An institution\u2019s rank reflects the number of institutions that sit above it.<\/p>\n As with all university rankings, the Shanghai ranking weighs category scores differently, though relatively more evenly than other rankings.<\/p>\n The ARWU does not officially rank universities outside of the top 200, but provides given scores across all categories, which can be calculated into a total.<\/p>\n Overall, UCT, Wits and Stellenbosch University improved on their general scores, with all listed SA universities seeing improvements in academic performance.<\/p>\n Here’s how the universities performed across all categories:<\/p>\n Total scores are the weighted total expressed as a percentage of the top-ranked university (=100).<\/em><\/p>\n This South African university could challenge the global elite by 2030<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Massive fake degrees scandal uncovered at South African university<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Top South African university says it is \u2018financially vulnerable\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nSouth African universities<\/h3>\n
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\n #<\/strong><\/th>\n University<\/strong><\/th>\n 2015 Score<\/strong><\/th>\n 2016 Score<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1<\/td>\n University of the Witwatersrand<\/td>\n 15.34<\/td>\n 17.42<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2<\/td>\n University of Cape Town<\/td>\n 16.52<\/td>\n 16.53<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3<\/td>\n Stellenbosch University<\/td>\n 10.11<\/td>\n 11.25<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4<\/td>\n University of KwaZulu Natal<\/td>\n 10.87<\/td>\n 10.10<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n
University category scores<\/h3>\n
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\n Indicator<\/strong><\/th>\n Weight<\/strong><\/th>\n UCT<\/strong><\/th>\n Wits<\/strong><\/th>\n UKZN<\/strong><\/th>\n Stellies<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Alumni<\/td>\n 10%<\/td>\n 18.5<\/td>\n 18.5<\/td>\n 0.0<\/td>\n 0.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Awards<\/td>\n 20%<\/td>\n 0.0<\/td>\n 0.0<\/td>\n 0.0<\/td>\n 0.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n HiCi<\/td>\n 20%<\/td>\n 10.3<\/span><\/td>\n 14.5<\/span><\/td>\n 0.0<\/span><\/td>\n 10.3<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n N&S<\/td>\n 20%<\/td>\n 12.6<\/span><\/td>\n 15.7<\/span><\/td>\n 8.3<\/span><\/td>\n 5.4<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n PUB<\/td>\n 20%<\/td>\n 38.1<\/span><\/td>\n 35.2<\/span><\/td>\n 32.8<\/td>\n 31.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n PCP<\/td>\n 10%<\/td>\n 21.4<\/span><\/td>\n 21.3<\/span><\/td>\n 16.7<\/span><\/td>\n 16.4<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total<\/strong><\/td>\n 100%<\/strong><\/td>\n 16.53<\/strong><\/td>\n 17.42<\/strong><\/td>\n 10.10<\/strong><\/td>\n 11.25<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n More on universities<\/h3>\n