Times Higher Education has published its global university ranking by subject, showing which South African universities come out on top when looking at key subjects like computer science, engineering and physical sciences.
The Times Higher Education World University Ranking claims to be the only global performance table that judges research-intensive universities across all their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
It uses 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons, trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry and governments.
The performance indicators are grouped into five areas:
- Teaching (the learning environment);
- Research (volume, income and reputation);
- Citations (research influence);
- International outlook (staff, students and research); and
- Industry income (knowledge transfer).
For the subject rankings, the same indicators are used but are recalibrated per subject, with the weightings changed to suit the individual fields.
The group’s subject rankings look at 11 broad fields of study, including arts and humanities, law, education, health, science and technology, among others. BusinessTech looked at which universities ranked top in technical fields, including Computer Science, Engineering and Physical Sciences.
15 universities total from South Africa ranked among the top in the world in these subjects, with nine featuring in the computer science ranking, 10 in the engineering ranking and 15 in the physical science ranking.
Stellenbosch University (SU) ranked as the top school for computer science in the country while ranking in the same band as two others for engineering. Six universities ranked within the same band for physical sciences.
SU shares first place in Engineering and Technology with Unisa and North-West University while leading the way in Physical Sciences alongside North-West University, the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of the Free State, Rhodes University, and the University of the Western Cape.
Computer Science
Overall, 974 universities were ranked, up from 892 last year.
| University | Ranking |
|---|---|
| Stellenbosch University | 401-500 |
| University of Cape Town | 601-800 |
| University of Johannesburg | 601-800 |
| University of KwaZulu Natal | 601-800 |
| North-West University | 601-800 |
| University of Pretoria | 601-800 |
| University of the Witwatersrand | 601-800 |
| University of South Africa (Unisa) | 801+ |
| Tshwane University of Technology | 801+ |
Physical Science
This subject field ranks universities that are leading across the following disciplines: mathematics and statistics, physics and astronomy, chemistry, geology, environmental sciences, as well as earth and marine sciences.
Overall, 1,307 universities were ranked, up from 1,227 last year.
| University | Ranking |
|---|---|
| University of Cape Town | 401-500 |
| University of the Free State | 401-500 |
| North-West University | 401-500 |
| Rhodes University | 401-500 |
| Stellenbosch University | 401-500 |
| University of the Western Cape | 401-500 |
| University of KwaZulu Natal | 501-600 |
| Tshwane University of Technology | 501-600 |
| University of Johannesburg | 601-800 |
| University of Pretoria | 601-800 |
| University of South Africa (Unisa) | 601-800 |
| University of the Witwatersrand | 601-800 |
| Durban University of Technology | 801-1000 |
| University of Fort Hare | 1001+ |
| University of Venda | 1001+ |
Engineering
This subject field highlights the universities that are leading across the following disciplines: general engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, civil engineering and chemical engineering.
Overall, 1,306 universities were ranked, up from 1,188 last year.
| University | Ranking |
|---|---|
| North-West Unviersity | 401-500 |
| University of South Africa | 401-500 |
| Stellenbosch University | 401-500 |
| University of Johannesburg | 501-600 |
| Tshwane University of Technology | 501-600 |
| University of Cape Town | 601-800 |
| University of KwaZulu Natal | 601-800 |
| University of Pretoria | 601-800 |
| University of the Witwatersrand | 601-800 |
| Durban University of Technology | 801-1000 |
