North-West University: Rankings
North-West University ranked 8 in South Africa, 921 in the global 2026 rating, and scored in the TOP 1-3 across multiple research topics. The ranking is based on 3 factors: research output (EliteDegrees's index has 36,653 academic publications and 656,030 citations attributed to the university), non-academic reputation, and the impact of notable alumni.
| Position | Category |
|---|---|
| # 921 of 14,131 | In the World |
| # 12 of 1,104 | In Africa |
| # 8 of 26 | In South Africa |
| # 431 of 5,013 | For Economics |
| # 496 of 6,257 | For Art & Design |
| # 538 of 5,096 | For Business |
| Top 1-3 | For 12 other topics |
Jump to topical rankings below
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences rankings
North-West University ranked 586 in the World with 22,534 publications made and 335,797 citations received.
North-West University
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Law | #6 | #6 | #186 |
| Social Work | #3 | #3 | #202 |
| Anthropology | #8 | #8 | #316 |
| Education | #8 | #8 | #344 |
| Gender Studies | #10 | #10 | #345 |
| Special Education | #6 | #6 | #408 |
| Aesthetics | #8 | #8 | #436 |
| Sociology | #8 | #8 | #445 |
| Law | #8 | #8 | #445 |
| Archaeology | #7 | #7 | #448 |
| Media Studies | #9 | #9 | #476 |
| History | #8 | #8 | #479 |
| Genealogy | #8 | #8 | #512 |
| Political Science | #8 | #8 | #512 |
| Demography | #6 | #15 | #535 |
| Publishing | #9 | #10 | #556 |
| Broadcast Journalism | #9 | #14 | #576 |
| Linguistics | #7 | #8 | #631 |
| Forensic Science | #10 | #25 | #671 |
| Philosophy | #7 | #7 | #750 |
Environmental Science rankings
North-West University ranked 643 in the World with 18,570 publications made and 344,252 citations received.
North-West University
Environmental Science Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrology and Water resources | #11 | #36 | #371 |
| Forestry | #8 | #27 | #448 |
| Environmental Management | #7 | #10 | #450 |
| Ecology | #7 | #10 | #577 |
| Paleontology | #7 | #11 | #652 |
| Environmental Engineering | #11 | #28 | #737 |
| Geology | #7 | #12 | #739 |
| Wildlife and Fisheries Management | #8 | #19 | #740 |
| Oceanography | #9 | #14 | #897 |
| Earth science and Geoscience | #9 | #40 | #1202 |
Biology rankings
North-West University ranked 923 in the World with 18,132 publications made and 380,072 citations received.
North-West University
Biology Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toxicology | #5 | #26 | #369 |
| Forestry | #8 | #27 | #448 |
| Ethics | #8 | #14 | #488 |
| Zoology | #8 | #12 | #519 |
| Animal Science | #8 | #28 | #526 |
| Horticulture | #6 | #20 | #567 |
| Paleontology | #7 | #11 | #652 |
| Biotechnology | #6 | #14 | #671 |
| Bioinformatics / Computational biology | #6 | #9 | #680 |
| Botany | #8 | #17 | #682 |
| Entomology | #7 | #18 | #731 |
| Wildlife and Fisheries Management | #8 | #19 | #740 |
| Pharmacology | #6 | #20 | #764 |
| Microbiology | #8 | #32 | #800 |
| Virology | #10 | #42 | #878 |
| Neuroscience | #6 | #12 | #922 |
| Evolutionary | #9 | #11 | #936 |
| Astrobiology | #8 | #17 | #1053 |
| Genetics | #6 | #20 | #1057 |
| Biochemistry | #7 | #17 | #1069 |
| Immunology | #8 | #43 | #1083 |
| Nanotechnology | #11 | #28 | #1199 |
| Molecular | #8 | #18 | #1289 |
| Biophysics | #8 | #12 | #1515 |
| Oncology | #10 | #54 | #1714 |
Medicine rankings
North-West University ranked 911 in the World with 13,380 publications made and 283,016 citations received.
North-West University
Medicine Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Work | #3 | #3 | #202 |
| Toxicology | #5 | #26 | #369 |
| Clinical Psychology | #3 | #3 | #437 |
| Veterinary | #8 | #43 | #479 |
| Ethics | #8 | #14 | #488 |
| Nursing | #7 | #16 | #514 |
| Healthcare Administration | #8 | #21 | #527 |
| Health Science | #8 | #11 | #559 |
| Gerontology | #5 | #7 | #567 |
| Forensic Science | #10 | #25 | #671 |
| Pharmacology | #6 | #20 | #764 |
| Epidemiology | #10 | #55 | #794 |
| Sports | #5 | #10 | #839 |
| Psychiatry | #6 | #15 | #857 |
| Virology | #10 | #42 | #878 |
| Physical Therapy | #6 | #12 | #879 |
| Pediatrics | #9 | #59 | #891 |
| Pathology | #6 | #24 | #909 |
| Pharmacy | #8 | #25 | #924 |
| Paramedicine and Emergency | #10 | #33 | #1009 |
| Cardiology | #7 | #22 | #1036 |
| Immunology | #8 | #43 | #1083 |
| Radiology | #7 | #23 | #1085 |
| Dermatology | #9 | #46 | #1144 |
| Occupational Therapy | #8 | #27 | #1238 |
| Ophthalmology | #9 | #41 | #1254 |
| Surgery | #10 | #53 | #1349 |
| Anesthesiology | #9 | #50 | #1513 |
| Orthodontics | #12 | #54 | #1591 |
| Urology | #12 | #75 | #1684 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | #13 | #113 | #1691 |
| Oncology | #10 | #54 | #1714 |
| Dentistry | #12 | #65 | #1761 |
Engineering rankings
North-West University ranked 1004 in the World with 13,245 publications made and 309,048 citations received.
North-West University
Engineering Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape Architecture | #6 | #13 | #559 |
| Engineering Management | #7 | #9 | #660 |
| Biotechnology | #6 | #14 | #671 |
| Aviation | #7 | #8 | #718 |
| Environmental Engineering | #11 | #28 | #737 |
| Biochemical Engineering | #8 | #15 | #766 |
| Renewable Energy | #9 | #34 | #781 |
| Systems | #7 | #9 | #797 |
| Construction Management | #12 | #34 | #988 |
| Metallurgy | #7 | #19 | #1019 |
| Reliability and Quality | #9 | #25 | #1029 |
| Operations Research | #7 | #20 | #1077 |
| Nanotechnology | #11 | #28 | #1199 |
| Optics | #9 | #25 | #1265 |
| Remote Sensing | #10 | #44 | #1326 |
| Applied Physics | #9 | #41 | #1463 |
| Telecommunications | #9 | #37 | #1497 |
| Automation and Control | #10 | #58 | #1639 |
| Computer Engineering | #9 | #60 | #1984 |
Physics rankings
North-West University ranked 895 in the World with 12,991 publications made and 290,143 citations received.
North-West University
Physics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theoretical | #4 | #4 | #400 |
| Astrobiology | #8 | #17 | #1053 |
| Nanotechnology | #11 | #28 | #1199 |
| Optics | #9 | #25 | #1265 |
| Molecular | #10 | #33 | #1328 |
| Applied Physics | #9 | #41 | #1463 |
| Biophysics | #8 | #12 | #1515 |
| Condensed Matter | #9 | #46 | #1621 |
Chemistry rankings
North-West University ranked 1058 in the World with 12,450 publications made and 315,821 citations received.
North-West University
Chemistry Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radiochemistry | #3 | #10 | #446 |
| Biochemical Engineering | #8 | #15 | #766 |
| Physical | #6 | #12 | #792 |
| Pharmacy | #8 | #25 | #924 |
| Computational | #8 | #23 | #993 |
| Organic chemistry | #8 | #19 | #1057 |
| Biochemistry | #7 | #17 | #1069 |
| Nanotechnology | #11 | #28 | #1199 |
Computer Science rankings
North-West University ranked 919 in the World with 11,744 publications made and 233,861 citations received.
North-West University
Computer Science Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Technology | #7 | #13 | #429 |
| Management Information Systems (MIS) | #6 | #6 | #506 |
| Bioinformatics / Computational biology | #6 | #9 | #680 |
| Data Science | #8 | #14 | #681 |
| Neuroscience | #6 | #12 | #922 |
| Computational Linguistics | #6 | #14 | #923 |
| Machine Learning | #8 | #18 | #947 |
| Multimedia | #7 | #8 | #952 |
| Software Engineering | #8 | #22 | #1126 |
| Computer Vision | #7 | #23 | #1250 |
| Cognitive Science | #7 | #23 | #1301 |
| Telecommunications | #9 | #37 | #1497 |
| Computer Engineering | #9 | #60 | #1984 |
| Cryptography and Distributed computing | #11 | #78 | #2143 |
Psychology rankings
North-West University ranked 674 in the World with 9,752 publications made and 188,640 citations received.
North-West University
Psychology Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Work | #3 | #3 | #202 |
| Education | #8 | #8 | #344 |
| Special Education | #6 | #6 | #408 |
| Clinical Psychology | #3 | #3 | #437 |
| Human Sexuality | #10 | #14 | #530 |
| Psychiatry | #6 | #15 | #857 |
| Neuroscience | #6 | #12 | #922 |
| Occupational Therapy | #8 | #27 | #1238 |
| Cognitive Science | #7 | #23 | #1301 |
Business rankings
North-West University ranked 538 in the World with 8,735 publications made and 148,739 citations received.
North-West University
Business Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entrepreneurship | #7 | #10 | #377 |
| Risk Management | #5 | #5 | #390 |
| Marketing | #7 | #7 | #411 |
| Advertising | #5 | #5 | #437 |
| Actuarial Science | #4 | #7 | #451 |
| Project Management | #7 | #7 | #483 |
| Management Information Systems (MIS) | #6 | #6 | #506 |
| International Trade | #7 | #7 | #521 |
| Accounting | #8 | #11 | #534 |
| Finance | #8 | #10 | #559 |
| Engineering Management | #7 | #9 | #660 |
| Management | #8 | #10 | #695 |
| Real Estate | #9 | #27 | #922 |
| Construction Management | #12 | #34 | #988 |
| Operations Research | #7 | #20 | #1077 |
| Hospitality and Hotel Management | #2 | #2 | #59 |
Economics rankings
North-West University ranked 431 in the World with 8,146 publications made and 118,848 citations received.
North-West University
Economics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actuarial Science | #4 | #7 | #451 |
| International Trade | #7 | #7 | #521 |
| Finance | #8 | #10 | #559 |
| Econometrics | #8 | #13 | #716 |
Mathematics rankings
North-West University ranked 714 in the World with 7,653 publications made and 149,851 citations received.
North-West University
Mathematics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics Education | #6 | #6 | #357 |
| Actuarial Science | #4 | #7 | #451 |
| Applied Mathematics | #5 | #11 | #568 |
| Econometrics | #8 | #13 | #716 |
| Statistics | #7 | #12 | #775 |
| Operations Research | #7 | #20 | #1077 |
| Cryptography and Distributed computing | #11 | #78 | #2143 |
Art & Design rankings
North-West University ranked 496 in the World with 4,547 publications made and 47,365 citations received.
North-West University
Art & Design Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Writing | #7 | #7 | #251 |
| Music | #3 | #3 | #294 |
| Literature | #7 | #7 | #427 |
| Aesthetics | #8 | #8 | #436 |
| Acting and Drama | #8 | #8 | #523 |
| Landscape Architecture | #6 | #13 | #559 |
| Interior Design | #5 | #16 | #584 |
| Cinematography | #9 | #10 | #666 |
| Photography | #8 | #12 | #709 |
| Sculpture | #6 | #13 | #845 |
| Multimedia | #7 | #8 | #952 |
