The University of Cape Town (UCT) has once again been named the best University in South Africa according to the latest QS World University Rankings.
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Focusing on employability and sustainability, the 2024 QS World University Rankings examine 1,500 institutions in 104 locations.
Its results are based on over 17 million academic papers and expert opinions from nearly 250,000 academic faculty and employers.
The 2024 edition expanded on its methodological approach and features three new metrics: Sustainability, Employment Outcomes and International Research Network.
The rankings flagged employability as an incredibly important feature to the overall study. It achieved this by increasing the weight of Employer Reputation Employment Outcomes in the overall score.
UCT improved 64 places since the previous edition of the rankings to maintain its top spot as the best university in South Africa.
‘UCT is delighted to record such an impressive jump in the rankings. We are particularly pleased to see this new recognition of our international collaborations [for which UCT ranked in the top 50 institutions globally], together with recognition in the new category of social and environmental impact,’ UCT Vice-Chancellor Daya Reddy told businesstech.
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‘Both are critical to our mission to create and teach the best of knowledge and, in so doing, to contribute towards addressing complex and critical challenges facing our country, our continent, and the world at large. The introduction of employment outcomes is also especially welcome in a country like South Africa, where higher education institutions have a critical role to play in addressing the vital need to increase employment opportunities.’
Most other South African universities also enjoyed better rankings with the University of Witwatersrand climbing from 428 in 2023 to 264 in 2024, whilst Stellebosch University jumped from 454 to 283.
The table below lists the best performing South African universities according to the QS World University Rankings:
University | 2023 Rank | 2024 Rank | 2023 Score | 2024 Score |
University of Cape Town | 237 | 173 | 39.4 | 48.7 |
University of Witwatersrand | 428 | 264 | 27.1 | 37.9 |
Stellenbosch University | 454 | 283 | 26 | 36.5 |
University of Johannesburg | 412 | 306 | 27.7 | 34 |
University of Pretoria | 591-600 | 323 | – | 32.8 |
University of Kwazulu-Natal | 801-1000 | 621-630 | – | – |
North-West University | 1001-1200 | 801-850 | – | – |
University of South Africa | – | 851-900 | – | – |
Rhodes University | 801-1000 | 901-950 | – | – |
University of the Western Cape | 1001-1200 | 951-1000 | – | – |
University of the Free State | – | 1001-1200 | – | – |
With a perfect score, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was recognised as the best university in the world for the 12th consecutive year.
The University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford round out the podium as additional English universities.
The National University of Singapore and the University of California, Berkeley are two newcomers to the top 10 in the 2024 rankings from the previous iteration.
The top 10 universities in the world are:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA (100)
- University of Cambridge, UK (99.2
- University of Oxford, UK (98.9)
- Harvard University, USA (98.3)
- Stanford University, USA (98.1)
- Imperial College London, UK (97.8)
- ETH Zurich, Switzerland (93.3)
- National University of Singapore (92.7)
- UCL, UK (92.4)
- University of California, Berkeley (90.4)
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UCT ranks 9th in the world for water and sanitation sustainability
Picture: Gerald Hinde / Gallo Images