{"id":555000,"date":"2022-02-02T17:00:40","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T15:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=555000"},"modified":"2022-02-02T16:32:28","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T14:32:28","slug":"these-are-the-21-best-universities-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/555000\/these-are-the-21-best-universities-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"These are the 21 best universities in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new ranking by the Informatics Institute at the Middle East Technical University, in Turkey, lists the 21 top universities in South Africa.<\/p>\n

The University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP)<\/strong><\/a> for 2022 differs from other widely published rankings by not precluding the lower-end of institutions, particularly in developing nations.<\/p>\n

With 21 South African universities making the list for the 2021\/22 review period, it is the most comprehensive look at higher education institutes (HEIs) in the country.<\/p>\n

The URAP ranking system focuses on academic quality. The group gathered data about 3,000 HEIs, covering approximately 12% of all HEIs globally. From the 3,000-plus universities and learning institutions assessed, a ranking is derived based on multiple criteria focusing on academic performance.<\/p>\n

The overall score of each HEI is based on its performance over several indicators, including current scientific productivity, research impact, research quality, and international acceptance.<\/p>\n

“Since URAP is an academic performance-based ranking, publications constitute the basis of the ranking methodology. Both quality and quantity of publications and international research collaboration performance are used as indicators,” the group said.<\/p>\n

In the 2022 ranking, South Africa\u2019s top university \u2013 the University of Cape Town – joined six other local institutes in sliding down the global ranking. However, the remaining 15 local institutions all climbed the global list.<\/p>\n

Five South African universities are ranked among the top 500 in the world, with UCT being the only one within the top 250. These universities are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. University of Cape Town<\/li>\n
  2. University of the Witwatersrand<\/li>\n
  3. University of KwaZulu Natal<\/li>\n
  4. Stellenbosch University<\/li>\n
  5. University of Pretoria<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In the local rankings, Rhodes University has slipped below the University of South Africa and out of the top 10. Similarly, the Tshwane University of Technology has slipped below the Durban University of Technology, now ranked 13th locally.<\/p>\n

    Both the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the University of Limpopo saw a big jump in the global ranking, but the former edged out the latter in the local ranking, pushing it to 16th, overall.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Local 2022<\/th>\nGlobal 2022<\/th>\nUniversity<\/th>\nScore<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
    1<\/td>\n240<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of Cape Town<\/td>\n406.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    2<\/td>\n323<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of the Witwatersrand<\/td>\n385.24<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    3<\/td>\n358<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of KwaZulu Natal<\/td>\n375.39<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    4<\/td>\n377<\/span><\/td>\nStellenbosch University<\/td>\n370.61<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    5<\/td>\n474<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of Pretoria<\/td>\n348.40<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    6<\/td>\n592<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of Johannesburg<\/td>\n323.27<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    7<\/td>\n611<\/span><\/td>\nNorth-West University<\/td>\n318.29<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    8<\/td>\n886<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of the Western Cape<\/td>\n274.14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    9<\/td>\n927<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of the Free State<\/td>\n268.47<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    10<\/td>\n948<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of South Africa (Unisa) [up]<\/em><\/td>\n264.90<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    11<\/td>\n1130<\/span><\/td>\nRhodes University [down]<\/em><\/td>\n246.58<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    12<\/td>\n1256<\/span><\/td>\nDurban University of Technology [up]<\/em><\/td>\n233.73<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    13<\/td>\n1367<\/span><\/td>\nTshwane University of Technology [down]<\/em><\/td>\n222.82<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    14<\/td>\n1474<\/span><\/td>\nNelson Mandela University<\/td>\n211.54<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    15<\/td>\n2053<\/span><\/td>\nCape Peninsula University of Technology [up]<\/em><\/td>\n165.04<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    16<\/td>\n2068<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of Limpopo [down]<\/em><\/td>\n163.48<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    17<\/td>\n2292<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of Fort Hare<\/td>\n147.18<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    18<\/td>\n2340<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of Venda<\/td>\n143.81<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    19<\/td>\n2445<\/span><\/td>\nSefako Makgatho Health Sciences University<\/td>\n137.15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    20<\/td>\n2738<\/span><\/td>\nUniversity of Zululand<\/td>\n116.11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    21<\/td>\n2947<\/span><\/td>\nVaal University of Technology<\/td>\n101.83<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Top universities in the world<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The top 10 global ranking is virtually unchanged from the 2021 listing, with only one significant movement.<\/p>\n

    The Universite Paris Saclay in France has dropped out of the global top 10, making room for China’s Tsinghua University to enter into the elites. University of Washington, Seattle, moved up to ninth position, with Tsinghua University coming in tenth.<\/p>\n

    Harvard University in the USA continues to lead the global rankings.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Rank<\/th>\nUniversity<\/th>\nCountry<\/th>\nScore<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
    1<\/td>\nHarvard University<\/td>\nUSA<\/td>\n600.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    2<\/td>\nUniversity of Toronto<\/td>\nCanada<\/td>\n586.23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    3<\/td>\nUniversity College London<\/td>\nUK<\/td>\n579.50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    4<\/td>\nStanford University<\/td>\nUSA<\/td>\n572.61<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    5<\/td>\nUniversity of Oxford<\/td>\nUK<\/td>\n568.75<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    6<\/td>\nJohns Hopkins University<\/td>\nUSA<\/td>\n565.69<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    7<\/td>\nUniversity of Cambridge<\/td>\nUK<\/td>\n553.25<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    8<\/td>\nUniversity of Michigan<\/td>\nUSA<\/td>\n552.87<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    9<\/td>\nUniversity of Washington Seattle<\/td>\nUSA<\/td>\n549.87<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    10<\/td>\nTsinghua University<\/td>\nChina<\/td>\n547.46<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The URAP looks specifically at academic quality and performance, assessing the output of scientific data, published and cited works, as well as the impact of these works on academia. The scores are broken down as follows:<\/p>\n