The University of Cape Town offers the best quality of subjects in the country. This is according to the 2016 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World Rankings By Subject list released yesterday.Featuring 42 disciplines, the analysis of 28.5 million research papers and 113 million citations, the QS grade is considered the largest world subject ranking.The rankings are based on research citations and reputational surveys of 121,000 academics and graduate employers worldwide.In its sixth edition, the list sees UCT as the most prestigious of the eight South African universities examined, with the institution having 31 subjects featured on the list - the most of the sample.Wits University is in second place with 17 subjects, and the University of Pretoria rounds off the top trio with 11 subjects.Other institutions included are Stellenbosch University (nine subjects), University of Johannesburg (four), University of KwaZulu-Natal (three), Rhodes University (two) and University of the Western Cape (one).South Africa's institutions occupy 21 spots in the top 100 ranking - six more than last year - with UCT and Wits sharing 17 of them.Development studies is globally the most competitive subject that South Africa offers. The US's Harvard University is this year seen as offering the best model.Ben Sowter, head of QS intelligence unit, said: "Though the US and UK remain dominant, our most inclusive rankings yet show that excellence can be found in an ever-increasing number of places.""Nations like Austria, South Africa, Finland, Brazil, China and Sweden can be found in the top 10 of our tables."Professor Graeme Bloch of the Wits School of Governance says the success of the top two institutions could be ascribed mostly to the lecturers."They [UCT and Wits] are attracting the best lecturers, which makes the level of teaching at those schools better," he said.Bloch added "the curriculum itself is of a high standard, but the achievement of students tends to be low, so better teaching is the key".Overall, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology dominate the rankings, leading in 24 subjects between them and each taking 12 leading positions.Professor Sarah Gravett, of the University of Johannesburg, said: "It's important to look at rankings within a greater context. A lot of ranking is dependent on perception; a percentage focuses on academic reputation, another on employer's perception and another on research, so rankings should always be considered carefully."..