University of South Africa: Rankings
University of South Africa ranked 7 in South Africa, 899 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 39,603 academic publications and 457,093 citations attributed to the university), non-academic reputation, and the impact of notable alumni.
| Position | Category |
|---|---|
| # 899 of 14,131 | In the World |
| # 11 of 1,104 | In Africa |
| # 7 of 26 | In South Africa |
| # 294 of 5,013 | For Economics |
| # 336 of 6,257 | For Art & Design |
| # 422 of 5,096 | For Business |
| Top 1-3 | For 12 other topics |
Jump to topical rankings below
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences rankings
University of South Africa ranked 483 in the World with 28,647 publications made and 277,683 citations received.
University of South Africa
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender Studies | #4 | #4 | #111 |
| Education | #1 | #1 | #120 |
| International Law | #5 | #5 | #166 |
| Anthropology | #3 | #3 | #173 |
| Publishing | #3 | #3 | #255 |
| Social Work | #7 | #7 | #283 |
| Genealogy | #6 | #6 | #293 |
| Law | #6 | #6 | #306 |
| Sociology | #6 | #6 | #310 |
| Special Education | #2 | #2 | #319 |
| Aesthetics | #5 | #5 | #323 |
| Political Science | #6 | #6 | #367 |
| Broadcast Journalism | #5 | #6 | #378 |
| History | #6 | #6 | #394 |
| Media Studies | #8 | #8 | #407 |
| Archaeology | #8 | #8 | #456 |
| Linguistics | #6 | #7 | #539 |
| Demography | #8 | #20 | #634 |
| Forensic Science | #8 | #19 | #641 |
| Philosophy | #5 | #5 | #645 |
Environmental Science rankings
University of South Africa ranked 732 in the World with 18,998 publications made and 235,302 citations received.
University of South Africa
Environmental Science Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrology and Water resources | #8 | #28 | #298 |
| Environmental Engineering | #8 | #11 | #476 |
| Environmental Management | #8 | #14 | #541 |
| Ecology | #10 | #21 | #755 |
| Forestry | #12 | #55 | #815 |
| Paleontology | #10 | #20 | #857 |
| Geology | #10 | #22 | #963 |
| Oceanography | #11 | #27 | #1115 |
| Wildlife and Fisheries Management | #15 | #67 | #1562 |
| Earth science and Geoscience | #13 | #62 | #1562 |
Biology rankings
University of South Africa ranked 1151 in the World with 16,144 publications made and 237,495 citations received.
University of South Africa
Biology Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics | #11 | #23 | #680 |
| Nanotechnology | #4 | #7 | #779 |
| Forestry | #12 | #55 | #815 |
| Entomology | #8 | #29 | #836 |
| Paleontology | #10 | #20 | #857 |
| Virology | #9 | #40 | #869 |
| Evolutionary | #8 | #10 | #907 |
| Animal Science | #11 | #56 | #954 |
| Toxicology | #12 | #76 | #1044 |
| Neuroscience | #8 | #18 | #1163 |
| Zoology | #13 | #51 | #1252 |
| Horticulture | #12 | #78 | #1262 |
| Astrobiology | #10 | #27 | #1270 |
| Botany | #13 | #57 | #1282 |
| Biotechnology | #12 | #49 | #1355 |
| Microbiology | #13 | #75 | #1402 |
| Biochemistry | #11 | #32 | #1474 |
| Wildlife and Fisheries Management | #15 | #67 | #1562 |
| Immunology | #11 | #71 | #1570 |
| Genetics | #11 | #47 | #1589 |
| Bioinformatics / Computational biology | #12 | #40 | #1635 |
| Molecular | #11 | #40 | #1823 |
| Pharmacology | #14 | #89 | #1990 |
| Oncology | #13 | #81 | #2078 |
Engineering rankings
University of South Africa ranked 1094 in the World with 13,898 publications made and 215,301 citations received.
University of South Africa
Engineering Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Management | #5 | #5 | #383 |
| Aviation | #2 | #2 | #442 |
| Environmental Engineering | #8 | #11 | #476 |
| Construction Management | #7 | #19 | #627 |
| Nanotechnology | #4 | #7 | #779 |
| Biochemical Engineering | #9 | #16 | #804 |
| Renewable Energy | #12 | #47 | #951 |
| Systems | #8 | #15 | #1004 |
| Optics | #8 | #21 | #1105 |
| Metallurgy | #10 | #27 | #1122 |
| Architecture | #7 | #34 | #1152 |
| Robotics | #6 | #19 | #1228 |
| Reliability and Quality | #10 | #35 | #1234 |
| Telecommunications | #7 | #22 | #1255 |
| Operations Research | #8 | #26 | #1271 |
| Biotechnology | #12 | #49 | #1355 |
| Applied Physics | #8 | #33 | #1370 |
| Remote Sensing | #12 | #61 | #1578 |
| Automation and Control | #11 | #60 | #1652 |
| Computer Engineering | #7 | #43 | #1654 |
Computer Science rankings
University of South Africa ranked 836 in the World with 13,629 publications made and 169,586 citations received.
University of South Africa
Computer Science Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Technology | #1 | #1 | #114 |
| Management Information Systems (MIS) | #1 | #1 | #141 |
| Multimedia | #2 | #2 | #497 |
| Data Science | #6 | #7 | #566 |
| Machine Learning | #7 | #12 | #743 |
| Computational Linguistics | #5 | #12 | #855 |
| Software Engineering | #7 | #13 | #920 |
| Neuroscience | #8 | #18 | #1163 |
| Robotics | #6 | #19 | #1228 |
| Telecommunications | #7 | #22 | #1255 |
| Computer Vision | #9 | #26 | #1412 |
| Cognitive Science | #8 | #25 | #1465 |
| Cryptography and Distributed computing | #7 | #48 | #1533 |
| Bioinformatics / Computational biology | #12 | #40 | #1635 |
| Computer Engineering | #7 | #43 | #1654 |
Physics rankings
University of South Africa ranked 1036 in the World with 13,432 publications made and 209,236 citations received.
University of South Africa
Physics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theoretical | #7 | #10 | #752 |
| Nanotechnology | #4 | #7 | #779 |
| Condensed Matter | #4 | #14 | #935 |
| Molecular | #7 | #17 | #989 |
| Optics | #8 | #21 | #1105 |
| Astrobiology | #10 | #27 | #1270 |
| Applied Physics | #8 | #33 | #1370 |
Business rankings
University of South Africa ranked 422 in the World with 11,870 publications made and 126,999 citations received.
University of South Africa
Business Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Management Information Systems (MIS) | #1 | #1 | #141 |
| Entrepreneurship | #4 | #4 | #200 |
| Accounting | #5 | #6 | #357 |
| Finance | #4 | #4 | #359 |
| Engineering Management | #5 | #5 | #383 |
| Project Management | #5 | #5 | #400 |
| Marketing | #6 | #6 | #409 |
| International Trade | #5 | #5 | #439 |
| Advertising | #6 | #6 | #468 |
| Management | #6 | #7 | #557 |
| Risk Management | #8 | #11 | #561 |
| Actuarial Science | #8 | #12 | #589 |
| Construction Management | #7 | #19 | #627 |
| Real Estate | #7 | #20 | #797 |
| Operations Research | #8 | #26 | #1271 |
Economics rankings
University of South Africa ranked 294 in the World with 11,623 publications made and 147,534 citations received.
University of South Africa
Economics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance | #4 | #4 | #359 |
| International Trade | #5 | #5 | #439 |
| Econometrics | #4 | #5 | #562 |
| Actuarial Science | #8 | #12 | #589 |
Psychology rankings
University of South Africa ranked 614 in the World with 11,371 publications made and 124,583 citations received.
University of South Africa
Psychology Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | #1 | #1 | #120 |
| Human Sexuality | #5 | #5 | #267 |
| Social Work | #7 | #7 | #283 |
| Special Education | #2 | #2 | #319 |
| Clinical Psychology | #8 | #13 | #822 |
| Neuroscience | #8 | #18 | #1163 |
| Psychiatry | #10 | #34 | #1189 |
| Cognitive Science | #8 | #25 | #1465 |
Medicine rankings
University of South Africa ranked 1140 in the World with 11,113 publications made and 155,988 citations received.
University of South Africa
Medicine Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Work | #7 | #7 | #283 |
| Health Science | #6 | #6 | #375 |
| Healthcare Administration | #7 | #17 | #499 |
| Paramedicine and Emergency | #6 | #12 | #521 |
| Nursing | #8 | #19 | #586 |
| Forensic Science | #8 | #19 | #641 |
| Ethics | #11 | #23 | #680 |
| Veterinary | #11 | #67 | #762 |
| Clinical Psychology | #8 | #13 | #822 |
| Optometry | #9 | #49 | #864 |
| Virology | #9 | #40 | #869 |
| Epidemiology | #11 | #66 | #930 |
| Toxicology | #12 | #76 | #1044 |
| Gerontology | #10 | #27 | #1167 |
| Psychiatry | #10 | #34 | #1189 |
| Pathology | #11 | #48 | #1248 |
| Ophthalmology | #10 | #43 | #1267 |
| Orthodontics | #10 | #36 | #1274 |
| Dentistry | #11 | #42 | #1350 |
| Pediatrics | #13 | #105 | #1380 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | #10 | #89 | #1399 |
| Pharmacy | #12 | #50 | #1494 |
| Immunology | #11 | #71 | #1570 |
| Surgery | #13 | #84 | #1909 |
| Pharmacology | #14 | #89 | #1990 |
| Oncology | #13 | #81 | #2078 |
| Physical Therapy | #14 | #55 | #2086 |
| Cardiology | #10 | #67 | #2109 |
| Sports | #16 | #57 | #2159 |
| Radiology | #12 | #80 | #2167 |
| Anesthesiology | #16 | #91 | #2239 |
Chemistry rankings
University of South Africa ranked 1336 in the World with 10,091 publications made and 182,216 citations received.
University of South Africa
Chemistry Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radiochemistry | #5 | #14 | #500 |
| Nanotechnology | #4 | #7 | #779 |
| Biochemical Engineering | #9 | #16 | #804 |
| Physical | #8 | #21 | #1047 |
| Computational | #9 | #32 | #1231 |
| Organic chemistry | #10 | #32 | #1325 |
| Biochemistry | #11 | #32 | #1474 |
| Pharmacy | #12 | #50 | #1494 |
Mathematics rankings
University of South Africa ranked 667 in the World with 8,862 publications made and 127,409 citations received.
University of South Africa
Mathematics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics Education | #1 | #1 | #189 |
| Econometrics | #4 | #5 | #562 |
| Actuarial Science | #8 | #12 | #589 |
| Applied Mathematics | #6 | #14 | #679 |
| Statistics | #8 | #13 | #794 |
| Operations Research | #8 | #26 | #1271 |
| Cryptography and Distributed computing | #7 | #48 | #1533 |
Art & Design rankings
University of South Africa ranked 336 in the World with 6,628 publications made and 45,763 citations received.
University of South Africa
Art & Design Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Writing | #3 | #3 | #144 |
| Literature | #5 | #5 | #279 |
| Acting and Drama | #3 | #3 | #308 |
| Aesthetics | #5 | #5 | #323 |
| Sculpture | #3 | #5 | #354 |
| Photography | #4 | #6 | #404 |
| Music | #5 | #5 | #446 |
| Multimedia | #2 | #2 | #497 |
| Cinematography | #5 | #6 | #510 |
| Graphic Design | #7 | #10 | #719 |
| Architecture | #7 | #34 | #1152 |
