South African universities in a race for top spots
UCT and Wits have consistently held the top spots as the best SA universities. However, other universities are closing in on them.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) have been coming out tops over the last 10 years as the best universities in South Africa. However, other SA universities are hot on their heels.
GLOBAL RANKINGS SHOW THAT COMPETITION IS INTENSIFYING
While Wits and UCT have a solid lead among South Africa’s other universities, rankings show that they have not made significant advancements and have even dropped in some criteria. Meanwhile, other local universities have seen a significant increase in their rankings, reported Business Tech.
An example of one of these universities is the University of Johannesburg (UJ). UJ now features among the top five universities in the latest QS World University Rankings for 2025. The university has climbed 327 places in the Centre for World University Rankings list for 2024 – the biggest climber among all locally ranked institutes.
Stellenbosch University (SU) is now the third-best university in the country, following UCT and Wits. SU has been in competition with the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) over the past decade and has now surpassed UKZN.
Some of SA’s lower-ranked universities have also shown progress and climbed the rankings. The University of South Africa (Unisa), for example, has made significant strides.
SA UNIVERSITIES: QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKING
The latest QS World University Ranking (QSWUR) ranked 11 local universities among the best in the world. Six of these were ranked in the top 1 000 globally. The rankings focus on, among other factors, research, employability, and sustainability.
The latest rankings for top SA universities are as follows on the QSWUR list:
- UCT – 171
- Wits – 267
- SU – 296
- UJ – 312
- University of Pretoria (UP) – 354
- UKZN – 587
CENTRE OF WORLD UNIVERSITY DATA
The Centre of World University Rankings (CWUR) for 2024 was published last month. Interestingly, the top three spots were taken by US universities – Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University.
The CWUR is one of the more comprehensive rankings, publishing rankings since 2012 of global universities. They assess the quality of education, employability, quality of faculty, and research. They do not rely on surveys or university data submissions.
South African universities debuted on the ranking in 2014, but only a handful of local institutions have shown market improvements since then. UCT, Wits, SU, and UKZN have all dropped down the rankings over the past decade. UJ, North-West University (NWU), and University of the Free State (UFS), on the other hand, have climbed.
For comprehensive data on the CWUR rankings, click here.