UJ climbs up global university rankings - with top 500 now in sight

The University of Johannesburg has moved up 41 places in the World University Rankings.

The University of Johannesburg has moved up 41 places in the World University Rankings. “In the 15th edition of the authoritative QS World University Rankings (QS WUR)‚ UJ has moved up markedly by at least 41 places into the 551–560 rank band worldwide‚ ending a consistent five-year stint in the lower 601–650 rank band‚ in which it had been placed since its debut in 2013‚” the university said in a statement.

Vice-chancellor and principal‚ Professor Tshilidzi Marwala‚ said: “This is an exceptional feat‚ reaffirming the notable headway that UJ has made in attaining global academic excellence and world-class status.”

The rankings evaluate the performance of universities‚ spanning 85 countries‚ across six rankings indicators. More than 4‚000 universities were considered in this year’s world publication before analysing 1‚233 of them‚ and with 1‚011 making the final list.

Two of the indicators‚ Academic Reputation (40%) and Employer Reputation (10%)‚ pertain to global perceptions and account for a half of the overall score. Faculty Student (20%) and Citations per Faculty (20%) carry the same weighting and factor in the core business of a university‚ teaching and learning and research. Internationalisation of both students and academic staff make up the last two rankings indicators: International Students (5%) and International Faculty (5%).

“UJ has achieved a higher overall score and improved its global rank position in each of the ranking indicators‚ with a considerable climb in the rank of 57 places for employer reputation and notable jumps in the twenties for the staff-to-student ratio and for the proportion of international staff and students. UJ surpassed the global average of ranked universities in three rankings indicators‚ namely‚ staff-to-student ratio‚ international staff‚ and international students‚” the UJ statement said.

Nationally‚ UJ is one of nine universities ranked in South Africa‚ the youngest to boot‚ and is the only South African university that bettered its position. The University of Cape Town is ranked 200‚ while the University of Pretoria is in the 561-570 band.