Seventeen departments at African universities can claim to be among the world’s 100 best places to study their subject, according to the eleventh edition of the?QS World University Rankings by Subject. The continent’s best-performing university in this exercise remains the University of Cape Town, accounting for 35% of Africa’s top-100 programs.

The 2021 instalment of QS’s global university performance comparison now offers independent data on the performance of 141 programs at 17 African universities, across 51 academic disciplines. This represents a small increase in representation at the program level since 2020’s edition, in which 135 programs at 18 programs were ranked.

This increased representation has not come alongside consistently improved performance for those departments already ranked. Of those ranked last year, while the majority remain stable, the number that have declined in rank over the last year (33) is more than double the number that have risen year-on-year (16). In addition, the number of departments at African universities achieving top-100 ranks is down five on 2020’s number (22). South Africa remains the dominant higher education ecosystem, with 16 of the continent’s seventeen top-100 departments, and 128 of the continent’s 141 ranked programs.

The highlights for the continent’s universities include:

· The University of Cape Town ranks in the top-100 for six subjects, retaining its global top-ten position for Development Studies (10th).

· University of the Witwatersrand ranks in the top-100 for four subjects, but has lost its top-20 position for Development Studies (now 27th).

· Stellenbosch University attains three top-100 positions, but has lost its top-50 rank for Development Studies (now in the 51-100 group).

· Uganda’s Makerere University has seen its Development Studies program rise into the top-50, now placing 45th.

· There is also a rise into the top-100 for the University of Pretoria’s Mineral and Mining Engineering program (joint-48th).

QS find that, as a continent, Africa is strongest in the Social Sciences, Arts, & Humanities. Only three of the continent’s 17 top-100 departments are scientific or technological disciplines, of which two are Mineral and Mining Engineering departments.

There are a range of programs in which African institutions are among the world’s best for research impact. The top Citations per Paper scores achieved by African institutions are:

· The University of Pretoria’s Accounting and Finance program (96.1/100 for Citations per Paper)

· The University of South Africa’s Theology, Divinity, and Religious Studies department (91.9/100)

· The University of Pretoria’s _Theology, Divinity, and Religious Studies _department (91.8/100).

· The University of Johannesburg’s English Language and Literature offering (90.8/100).

· University of the Witwatersrand’s English Language and Literature offering (90.3/100).

QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021: African Top-100 Programs 2021

2020

Institution

Subject

10

10

University of Cape Town

Development Studies

13

12

University of The Witwatersrand

Engineering - Mineral & Mining

27

19

University of The Witwatersrand

Development Studies

45

51-100

Makerere University

Development Studies

48=

University of Pretoria

Engineering - Mineral & Mining

51-100

51-100

University of Cape Town

Anthropology

51-100

51-100

University of The Witwatersrand

Anthropology

51-100

51-100

University of Cape Town

Archaeology

51-100

51-100

University of The Witwatersrand

Archaeology

51-100

51-100

University of Cape Town

Architecture / Built Environment

51-100

41=

Stellenbosch University

Development Studies

51-100

51-100

University of Cape Town

Geography

51-100

44

International Hotel School

Hospitality & Leisure Management

51-100

51-100

Stellenbosch University

Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies

51-100

51-100

University of Pretoria

Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies

66

51-100

Stellenbosch University

Agriculture & Forestry

87

51-100

University of Cape Town

Medicine

The rankings, compiled by global higher education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds, provide independent comparative analysis on the performance of?14,435 individual university programs,?taken by students at?1452 universities?which can be found in?86 locations across the world,?across 51 academic disciplines and five broad Faculty Areas.[1]?They are part of the annual QS World University Rankings portfolio, which was consulted over 147 million times in 2020, and covered 98,000 times by media and institutions.

For more information about this release, or to request the full dataset of Africa’s ranked programs,?please contact Jack Moran, QS Public Relations Manager, at?jack@qs.com?or at +44 7714 209 834.

Methodology?

QS use four key metrics to compile the rankings. The precise weighting of each metric varies by subject to reflect differing publication cultures across disciplines. For example, research performance is deemed to be a stronger indicator of institutional strength in?Medicine,?where the discipline is highly reliant on dissemination of research, than it is in?Performing Arts, where the discipline is more vocational in nature.?

Detailed methodological information can be found at?https://www.TopUniversities.com/subject-rankings/methodology.
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The full rankings are live now, and can be found at?https://www.TopUniversities.com/subject-rankings/2021.