University of Cape Town: Rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 1 in South Africa, 238 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 99,684 academic publications and 3,118,283 citations attributed to the university), non-academic reputation, and the impact of notable alumni.
| Position | Category |
|---|---|
| # 238 of 14,131 | In the World |
| # 1 of 1,104 | In Africa |
| # 1 of 26 | In South Africa |
| # 125 of 5,013 | For Economics |
| # 176 of 6,463 | For Environmental Science |
| # 208 of 6,568 | For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences |
| Top 1-3 | For 12 other topics |
Jump to topical rankings below
Biology rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 276 in the World with 58,545 publications made and 2,098,950 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Biology Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics | #1 | #1 | #51 |
| Virology | #1 | #1 | #80 |
| Zoology | #2 | #2 | #104 |
| Forestry | #3 | #3 | #108 |
| Wildlife and Fisheries Management | #1 | #1 | #122 |
| Entomology | #3 | #3 | #141 |
| Paleontology | #1 | #1 | #187 |
| Microbiology | #2 | #3 | #201 |
| Botany | #4 | #4 | #209 |
| Immunology | #1 | #1 | #221 |
| Animal Science | #3 | #7 | #222 |
| Evolutionary | #3 | #3 | #301 |
| Pharmacology | #1 | #4 | #309 |
| Bioinformatics / Computational biology | #1 | #1 | #326 |
| Genetics | #1 | #1 | #340 |
| Biotechnology | #3 | #4 | #363 |
| Biochemistry | #1 | #2 | #385 |
| Horticulture | #4 | #11 | #393 |
| Astrobiology | #2 | #2 | #403 |
| Neuroscience | #1 | #1 | #408 |
| Oncology | #1 | #4 | #468 |
| Molecular | #1 | #1 | #468 |
| Toxicology | #6 | #37 | #592 |
| Biophysics | #1 | #1 | #610 |
| Nanotechnology | #9 | #23 | #1186 |
Medicine rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 210 in the World with 53,077 publications made and 1,940,416 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Medicine Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics | #1 | #1 | #51 |
| Virology | #1 | #1 | #80 |
| Healthcare Administration | #1 | #1 | #87 |
| Pediatrics | #1 | #1 | #92 |
| Epidemiology | #1 | #1 | #100 |
| Neurosurgery | #1 | #1 | #119 |
| Paramedicine and Emergency | #1 | #1 | #126 |
| Plastic Surgery | #1 | #4 | #126 |
| Nursing | #1 | #1 | #126 |
| Sports | #1 | #1 | #164 |
| Physical Therapy | #1 | #1 | #169 |
| Health Science | #1 | #1 | #169 |
| Pathology | #1 | #1 | #192 |
| Forensic Science | #3 | #3 | #203 |
| Optometry | #2 | #3 | #206 |
| Cosmetology | #1 | #6 | #209 |
| Immunology | #1 | #1 | #221 |
| Surgery | #1 | #2 | #224 |
| Psychiatry | #1 | #1 | #226 |
| Cardiology | #1 | #1 | #226 |
| Dermatology | #1 | #2 | #236 |
| Anesthesiology | #1 | #2 | #238 |
| Occupational Therapy | #1 | #2 | #242 |
| Clinical Psychology | #1 | #1 | #248 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | #2 | #2 | #254 |
| Gerontology | #1 | #1 | #255 |
| Radiology | #1 | #2 | #272 |
| Pharmacology | #1 | #4 | #309 |
| Ophthalmology | #1 | #3 | #310 |
| Social Work | #9 | #11 | #392 |
| Veterinary | #7 | #36 | #396 |
| Radiation Therapy | #1 | #4 | #403 |
| Audiology | #3 | #3 | #451 |
| Oncology | #1 | #4 | #468 |
| Urology | #3 | #12 | #486 |
| Pharmacy | #3 | #11 | #559 |
| Toxicology | #6 | #37 | #592 |
| Dentistry | #5 | #14 | #593 |
| Orthodontics | #6 | #14 | #618 |
| Public Health | #1 | #1 | #100 |
| Family medicine | #1 | #1 | #58 |
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 208 in the World with 52,044 publications made and 1,534,898 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender Studies | #3 | #3 | #82 |
| Genealogy | #1 | #1 | #108 |
| Demography | #1 | #1 | #112 |
| International Law | #3 | #3 | #117 |
| Archaeology | #1 | #1 | #117 |
| History | #1 | #1 | #126 |
| Anthropology | #2 | #2 | #150 |
| Sociology | #1 | #1 | #150 |
| Media Studies | #1 | #1 | #150 |
| Law | #1 | #1 | #158 |
| Political Science | #1 | #1 | #177 |
| Forensic Science | #3 | #3 | #203 |
| Education | #2 | #2 | #211 |
| Special Education | #1 | #1 | #214 |
| Publishing | #2 | #2 | #227 |
| Aesthetics | #3 | #3 | #247 |
| Linguistics | #1 | #1 | #322 |
| Broadcast Journalism | #4 | #5 | #370 |
| Social Work | #9 | #11 | #392 |
| Philosophy | #1 | #1 | #454 |
| Human Rights Law | #3 | #3 | #48 |
Environmental Science rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 176 in the World with 46,332 publications made and 1,506,947 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Environmental Science Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forestry | #3 | #3 | #108 |
| Wildlife and Fisheries Management | #1 | #1 | #122 |
| Ecology | #1 | #1 | #132 |
| Oceanography | #1 | #1 | #134 |
| Environmental Management | #1 | #1 | #140 |
| Hydrology and Water resources | #3 | #13 | #183 |
| Paleontology | #1 | #1 | #187 |
| Geology | #1 | #1 | #199 |
| Environmental Engineering | #1 | #1 | #218 |
| Earth science and Geoscience | #2 | #2 | #243 |
| Urban and Regional planning | #1 | #1 | #88 |
Chemistry rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 433 in the World with 34,392 publications made and 1,287,542 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Chemistry Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biochemistry | #1 | #2 | #385 |
| Biochemical Engineering | #5 | #6 | #486 |
| Radiochemistry | #6 | #15 | #502 |
| Organic chemistry | #1 | #4 | #558 |
| Pharmacy | #3 | #11 | #559 |
| Physical | #5 | #10 | #760 |
| Computational | #4 | #14 | #825 |
| Nanotechnology | #9 | #23 | #1186 |
Engineering rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 462 in the World with 32,203 publications made and 1,007,335 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Engineering Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape Architecture | #1 | #1 | #153 |
| Environmental Engineering | #1 | #1 | #218 |
| Engineering Management | #3 | #3 | #231 |
| Renewable Energy | #4 | #4 | #234 |
| Operations Research | #1 | #1 | #236 |
| Construction Management | #4 | #5 | #303 |
| Remote Sensing | #2 | #2 | #341 |
| Biotechnology | #3 | #4 | #363 |
| Reliability and Quality | #2 | #2 | #369 |
| Telecommunications | #1 | #2 | #471 |
| Architecture | #2 | #6 | #478 |
| Biochemical Engineering | #5 | #6 | #486 |
| Metallurgy | #2 | #4 | #498 |
| Systems | #4 | #4 | #522 |
| Optics | #1 | #3 | #524 |
| Computer Engineering | #1 | #5 | #651 |
| Aviation | #6 | #7 | #675 |
| Automation and Control | #4 | #20 | #734 |
| Applied Physics | #4 | #13 | #841 |
| Robotics | #3 | #11 | #975 |
| Nanotechnology | #9 | #23 | #1186 |
Physics rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 435 in the World with 31,319 publications made and 998,895 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Physics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theoretical | #1 | #1 | #197 |
| Astrobiology | #2 | #2 | #403 |
| Optics | #1 | #3 | #524 |
| Biophysics | #1 | #1 | #610 |
| Molecular | #4 | #7 | #734 |
| Applied Physics | #4 | #13 | #841 |
| Condensed Matter | #7 | #24 | #1081 |
| Nanotechnology | #9 | #23 | #1186 |
Computer Science rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 413 in the World with 30,415 publications made and 942,562 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Computer Science Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Technology | #5 | #5 | #215 |
| Management Information Systems (MIS) | #4 | #4 | #290 |
| Bioinformatics / Computational biology | #1 | #1 | #326 |
| Computer Vision | #1 | #1 | #381 |
| Neuroscience | #1 | #1 | #408 |
| Multimedia | #1 | #1 | #441 |
| Telecommunications | #1 | #2 | #471 |
| Data Science | #2 | #2 | #498 |
| Cognitive Science | #1 | #2 | #531 |
| Software Engineering | #2 | #3 | #537 |
| Animation | #2 | #3 | #540 |
| Machine Learning | #3 | #4 | #551 |
| Computer Engineering | #1 | #5 | #651 |
| Computational Linguistics | #3 | #7 | #654 |
| Cryptography and Distributed computing | #2 | #16 | #877 |
| Robotics | #3 | #11 | #975 |
Psychology rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 249 in the World with 24,862 publications made and 808,615 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Psychology Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human Sexuality | #2 | #2 | #139 |
| Education | #2 | #2 | #211 |
| Special Education | #1 | #1 | #214 |
| Psychiatry | #1 | #1 | #226 |
| Occupational Therapy | #1 | #2 | #242 |
| Clinical Psychology | #1 | #1 | #248 |
| Social Work | #9 | #11 | #392 |
| Neuroscience | #1 | #1 | #408 |
| Cognitive Science | #1 | #2 | #531 |
Economics rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 125 in the World with 17,381 publications made and 516,464 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Economics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance | #1 | #1 | #190 |
| International Trade | #1 | #1 | #251 |
| Actuarial Science | #1 | #1 | #294 |
| Econometrics | #2 | #2 | #426 |
| Development Studies | #1 | #1 | #71 |
Mathematics rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 349 in the World with 16,244 publications made and 524,614 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Mathematics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operations Research | #1 | #1 | #236 |
| Mathematics Education | #5 | #5 | #293 |
| Actuarial Science | #1 | #1 | #294 |
| Statistics | #2 | #2 | #355 |
| Econometrics | #2 | #2 | #426 |
| Applied Mathematics | #8 | #22 | #872 |
| Cryptography and Distributed computing | #2 | #16 | #877 |
Business rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 281 in the World with 14,807 publications made and 376,360 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Business Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance | #1 | #1 | #190 |
| Engineering Management | #3 | #3 | #231 |
| Operations Research | #1 | #1 | #236 |
| Risk Management | #2 | #2 | #250 |
| International Trade | #1 | #1 | #251 |
| Advertising | #1 | #1 | #260 |
| Accounting | #2 | #2 | #263 |
| Entrepreneurship | #6 | #7 | #286 |
| Management Information Systems (MIS) | #4 | #4 | #290 |
| Actuarial Science | #1 | #1 | #294 |
| Construction Management | #4 | #5 | #303 |
| Marketing | #3 | #3 | #320 |
| Project Management | #4 | #4 | #347 |
| Real Estate | #3 | #7 | #376 |
| Management | #2 | #2 | #416 |
Art & Design rankings
University of Cape Town ranked 262 in the World with 7,288 publications made and 136,020 citations received.
University of Cape Town
Art & Design Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photography | #1 | #1 | #105 |
| Creative Writing | #1 | #1 | #133 |
| Interior Design | #1 | #3 | #143 |
| Landscape Architecture | #1 | #1 | #153 |
| Acting and Drama | #1 | #1 | #179 |
| Graphic Design | #1 | #1 | #211 |
| Literature | #2 | #2 | #219 |
| Cinematography | #1 | #1 | #244 |
| Aesthetics | #3 | #3 | #247 |
| Sculpture | #2 | #4 | #266 |
| Multimedia | #1 | #1 | #441 |
| Architecture | #2 | #6 | #478 |
| Animation | #2 | #3 | #540 |
| Music | #9 | #11 | #728 |
