South Africa universities provide three of world’s top 50 Development Studies programs
QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017
South Africa universities provide three of world’s top 50 Development Studies programs
Nation’s universities take 52 top-100 places in latest QS Subject Rankings
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London, 8th March 2017: South African universities are currently home to three of the world’s top 50 Development Studies courses, according to the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject. The seventh edition of QS Quacquarelli Symonds’s world-leading analysis of subject-specific university performance, released today, lists the world’s best universities for the study of 46 different subjects. Harvard University is number-one in 15 tables, ahead of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (12 number-one spots).
The University of Cape Town (10th) retains its global top-10 place for Development Studies, while the University of the Witwatersrand (18th) is also among the top 20. Stellenbosch University ranks 42nd for the same subject, making Development Studies South Africa’s strongest subject at the tertiary level. The University of Kwazulu-Natal (51-100) has also broken into the top 100, while the University of Johannesburg retains its place in the top 100.
Though the largest number of top-100 placements for South African universities occur for Development Studies, there are a number of other strong ranks achieved. These include:
- Stellenbosch University rises from the 51-100 band to 22nd position for Engineering – Mineral & Mining;
- The University of Cape Town ranks 47th for Geography;
- Three South African universities (Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town, and the University of Pretoria) place in the top 100 in QS’s first-ever Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies ranking. All three place in the 51-100 category;
- The University of Cape Town is ranked in the 51-100 category in QS’s first-ever Anatomy & Physiology ranking.
In total, South African institutions are ranked in the top 100 for thirteen different subjects, one more than last year. Furthermore, South African higher education increases its overall share of places in this year’s rankings. An extended year-on-year overview of South African performance is included in the below table:
| QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017: South African Performance Overview | ||
| Metric | 2017 Figure | 2016 Figure |
| Overall Placements | 105 | 161 |
| % of Overall Placements | 0.92% | 0.83% |
| Number of Universities Ranked | 7 | 8 |
| Top 400 Placements | 100 | 77 |
| Top 300 Placements | 84 | 70 |
| Top 200 Placements | 52 | 56 |
| Top 100 Placements | 21 | 21 |
| Top 50 Placements | 5 | 4 |
| © QS Quacquarelli Symonds 2004-2017 http://www.TopUniversities.com/ | ||
An overview of South African universities that rank in the top 100 for at least one subject can be found below. It indicates the University of Cape Town remains the national leader in terms of top-100 subjects.
| QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017: South African top-100 universities | |||
| Institution | 2017 Top-100 Subjects | 2016 Top-100 Subjects | Best Subject |
| University of Cape Town | 11 | 12 | Development Studies (10th) |
| University of The Witwatersrand | 4 | 5 | Development Studies (18th) |
| Stellenbosch University | 3 | 2 | Development Studies (42nd) |
| University of Johannesburg | 1 | 1 | Development Studies (51-100) |
| University of Kwazulu-Natal | 1 | 1 | Development Studies (51-100) |
| University of Pretoria | 1 | 1 | Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies (51-100) |
| © QS Quacquarelli Symonds 2004-2017 http://www.TopUniversities.com/ | |||