Every year the Times Higher Education publishes its World University Rankings. This list includes 1,799 universities from 104 countries and regions. South Africa is blessed to have many universities of an international standard that appear on this list.
Between certain universities in South Africa, there is a fair amount of competitiveness regarding who is the best in the country. Looking at the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University.
Anyway! Here are our top five!
South Africa has five universities within the top 600 institutions in the world.
The international rankings are scored using five criteria which include:
Let’s kick off the countdown to Mzansi’s best university.
Located between the port city and Pietermaritzburg, the Durban University of Technology is an incubator for creativity and innovation.
The university was established via the merger of two influential institutions namely the Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon. Currently, the university offers six faculties: Accounting and Informatics, Applied Sciences, Arts and Design, Engineering and the Built Environment, Health Sciences, and Management Sciences.
But it’s not the only fantastic university in KwaZulu Natal.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal has a rich and proud heritage of being the oldest and most transformed university in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Operating for 100 years, students can tap into a heritage unique to the area and learn from experts from across the globe.
It is also an institution that prides itself on delivering academic excellence and producing genuinely innovative ideas.
Commonly known as Wits, the university was inspired by the development of the South African School of Mines in Kimberley.
This institution from Kimberley relocated to Johannesburg in 1904 and became Wits. The university has always embraced a philosophy of non-discrimination, which resulted in many conflicts with the apartheid government.
Now located in the hip Braamfontein district of Johannesburg, students can enjoy a true melting pot of cultures.
Situated in the Cape’s Wineland region, Stellenbosch University is synonymous with agriculture, law, medical studies, and more.
The small town of Stellenbosch is also a fantastic place to call home for students, but the university doesn’t just operate there. Numerous campuses are located around the province for students to enrol.
Situated on the slopes of Devils Peak, the University of Cape Town (UCT) prides itself on being a multicultural university.
Many UCT alumni have graduated and gone on to change the world in many fields, including medicine, the arts, and climate change.
It is also the university with the most international students; 15% of attendees are from overseas.
Over the years, the rankings have changed, with the top two contenders fighting it out for the top spot. But UCT wins. Sorry to all the Maties alumni reading this news.
But one thing is for sure, no matter which university you enrol with, you will need to move your stuff to your new campus.
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But before ending this piece, let’s look at those who made the top five internationally!
The top ten international universities are from the United Kingdom and the United States. But institutions like Tsinghua University in China, ranked best in Asia, are climbing up the ranks.
So, who’s in the top five internationally now? And have you heard of them?
MIT is an internationally recognised university with 85 Nobel Laureates, 58 National Medal of Science winners, 29 National Medal of Technology and Innovation winners and 45 MacArthur Fellows. Among its impressive alumni is Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations.
It’s also where the first chemical synthesis of penicillin occurred, to name one of its many achievements.
Stanford University is also one of the most notable establishments in the world and one of the largest campuses in the USA.
Located just outside of San Francisco and in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, it is known for its entrepreneurial spirit.
Stanford has produced 21 Nobel laureates.
The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209. In its 800-year history, it has been affiliated with 92 Nobel Laureates. The university is currently home to over 100 libraries, housing over 15 million books.
While second on this list, it is ranked first for World Reputation, with its name opening many doors for its alumni.
Harvard opened in 1636, making it the oldest university in the US. Also, the private Ivy League institution has connections to more than 45 Nobel laureates, over 30 heads of state, and 48 Pulitzer prizewinners.
The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest surviving university in the world. Although there is no definitive origin date, evidence suggests 1096.
Its alumni network consists of more than 120 Olympic medallists, 26 Nobel Prize winners, seven poets laureates, and over 30 modern world leaders.
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