The 2023 edition of the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) is out and shows that once again the University of Cape Town continues to rate tops in South Africa, while 11 others have made the Global 2,000 list.
The CWUR’s new list shows that Harvard remains the best university in the world. And while the US has the top higher education system in the world, 96% of Chinese universities have risen in the rankings, thanks to the country’s continued investment in higher education.
But South Africa is experiencing a general decline in our university standards, with seven of our institutions struggling and dropping in the rankings. The main factor is South Africa’s research performance failing to keep up with intensified global competition from well-funded institutions.
CWUR publishes the largest academic ranking of global universities from around the world according to four factors: quality of education (25%), employability (25%), quality of faculty (10%) and research performance (40%). This year, 20,531 universities were ranked. Those featuring as top-notch were entered into the Global 2000 list, which features institutions from 95 countries.
CWUR president Dr Nadim Mahassen said: “While South Africa is well represented in this year’s rankings, the country’s top institutions are under increasing pressure from well-funded universities from around the world. Funding to further promote the development and reputation of South Africa’s higher education system is vital if the country aspires to be more competitive on the global stage.”
The main factor is South Africa's research performance failing to keep up with intensified global competition from well-funded institutions.
She said to improve global performance South Africa needs to do more to attract top academics and students, increase enrolment numbers and teaching capacity and increase tertiary education expenditure in future.
This year’s Global 2000 list has the University of Cape Town at number 270 in the world — three spots higher than last year. This is due to improvements in employability and research performance, though the quality of education indicator has dropped slightly. Wits University climbed two places to 290, while Stellenbosch University fell nine spots to 450 — ahead of University of KwaZulu-Natal at number 478 and University of Pretoria ranking at 557.
South Africa’s top-10 is rounded out by University of Johannesburg at 628, North West University at 887, University of the Free State at 1,160, University of Western Cape at 1,188, and Rhodes University at 1,300.
Commenting on the global picture, Mahassen said: “While the results of this year’s study confirm that the US has the top higher education system in the world, the broader story for the US is concerning.”
This was because almost 80% of American universities fell down the ranks due to intensified competition, “particularly from China”. The overall US slide, she said, mirrored that of French, German and Japanese institutions. The UK and Russia also experienced declines, but these were less severe.
Global top ten:
Institution [Previous Global Rank] [Country]
1) Harvard University [1] [US]
2) Massachusetts Institute of Technology [2] [US]
3) Stanford University [3] [US]
4) University of Cambridge [4] [UK]
5) University of Oxford [5] [UK]
6) Princeton University [6] [US]
7) University of Chicago [7] [US]
8) Columbia University [8] [US]
9) University of Pennsylvania [9] [US]
10) Yale University [11] [US]
2023 national rankings for South Africa:
Institution [Previous Global Rank] [Global Rank]
1) University of Cape Town [▲# 267] [270]
2) University of the Witwatersrand [▲# 290] [292]
3) Stellenbosch University [▼# 450] [441]
4) University of KwaZulu-Natal [▲# 478] [484]
5) University of Pretoria [▼# 557] [555]
6) University of Johannesburg [▲# 628] [629]
7) North West University [▼# 887] [880]
8) University of the Free State [▼# 1160] [1126]
9) University of Western Cape [▼# 1188] [1186]
10) Rhodes University [▲# 1300] [1304]
11) University of South Africa [▼# 1338] [1302]
12) Nelson Mandela University [▼# 1658] [1636]
The full results can be found here https://cwur.org/2023.php.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2023, which looks 1,799 universities across 104 countries and regions, sees UCT ranked at 160 in the world; Stellenbosch and Wits tied second at 300; UKZN at 500; Durban University of Technology at 600; UJ at 601; North West and UWC at 800; University of the Free State and University of Pretoria and Rhodes University at 1,000; Unisa at 1,200; University of Fort Hare University of Pretoria, Tshwane University of Technology and University of Venda at 1,500.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.