University of the Witwatersrand: Rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 2 in South Africa, 385 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 87,823 academic publications and 2,170,581 citations attributed to the university), non-academic reputation, and the impact of notable alumni.
| Position | Category |
|---|---|
| # 385 of 14,131 | In the World |
| # 2 of 1,104 | In Africa |
| # 2 of 26 | In South Africa |
| # 163 of 5,013 | For Economics |
| # 266 of 6,568 | For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences |
| # 273 of 6,463 | For Environmental Science |
| Top 1-3 | For 12 other topics |
Jump to topical rankings below
Biology rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 365 in the World with 50,700 publications made and 1,420,919 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Biology Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics | #2 | #2 | #81 |
| Virology | #2 | #2 | #98 |
| Zoology | #5 | #5 | #175 |
| Entomology | #5 | #5 | #181 |
| Paleontology | #2 | #2 | #214 |
| Forestry | #5 | #10 | #232 |
| Microbiology | #4 | #5 | #237 |
| Astrobiology | #1 | #1 | #241 |
| Evolutionary | #2 | #2 | #283 |
| Toxicology | #2 | #14 | #286 |
| Immunology | #2 | #2 | #294 |
| Botany | #5 | #6 | #367 |
| Animal Science | #5 | #18 | #439 |
| Genetics | #3 | #4 | #440 |
| Pharmacology | #3 | #10 | #447 |
| Bioinformatics / Computational biology | #3 | #4 | #482 |
| Wildlife and Fisheries Management | #6 | #9 | #515 |
| Neuroscience | #2 | #3 | #525 |
| Oncology | #2 | #5 | #528 |
| Biochemistry | #4 | #5 | #538 |
| Biotechnology | #4 | #9 | #546 |
| Molecular | #3 | #4 | #694 |
| Nanotechnology | #2 | #5 | #696 |
| Horticulture | #7 | #29 | #705 |
| Biophysics | #3 | #3 | #786 |
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 266 in the World with 46,919 publications made and 1,070,102 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender Studies | #1 | #1 | #74 |
| Genealogy | #2 | #2 | #124 |
| Anthropology | #1 | #1 | #139 |
| International Law | #4 | #4 | #143 |
| Demography | #2 | #2 | #144 |
| Sociology | #2 | #2 | #170 |
| Archaeology | #2 | #2 | #173 |
| History | #2 | #2 | #181 |
| Media Studies | #2 | #2 | #193 |
| Law | #2 | #2 | #207 |
| Education | #3 | #3 | #222 |
| Political Science | #2 | #2 | #232 |
| Aesthetics | #2 | #2 | #234 |
| Social Work | #5 | #5 | #239 |
| Broadcast Journalism | #1 | #1 | #252 |
| Publishing | #6 | #6 | #353 |
| Forensic Science | #7 | #10 | #356 |
| Linguistics | #2 | #2 | #377 |
| Special Education | #5 | #5 | #388 |
| Philosophy | #3 | #3 | #547 |
| Human Rights Law | #4 | #4 | #51 |
Medicine rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 290 in the World with 44,925 publications made and 1,282,044 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Medicine Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics | #2 | #2 | #81 |
| Virology | #2 | #2 | #98 |
| Epidemiology | #2 | #2 | #112 |
| Pediatrics | #2 | #2 | #118 |
| Healthcare Administration | #2 | #2 | #122 |
| Nursing | #2 | #2 | #162 |
| Paramedicine and Emergency | #2 | #2 | #179 |
| Orthodontics | #1 | #2 | #183 |
| Dentistry | #1 | #2 | #187 |
| Health Science | #2 | #2 | #231 |
| Optometry | #3 | #4 | #234 |
| Social Work | #5 | #5 | #239 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | #1 | #1 | #240 |
| Veterinary | #4 | #23 | #255 |
| Occupational Therapy | #2 | #3 | #267 |
| Pathology | #2 | #3 | #281 |
| Gerontology | #2 | #2 | #282 |
| Toxicology | #2 | #14 | #286 |
| Immunology | #2 | #2 | #294 |
| Surgery | #2 | #5 | #316 |
| Plastic Surgery | #3 | #7 | #325 |
| Cardiology | #2 | #3 | #351 |
| Forensic Science | #7 | #10 | #356 |
| Psychiatry | #3 | #4 | #367 |
| Radiology | #2 | #5 | #380 |
| Anesthesiology | #2 | #4 | #386 |
| Dermatology | #2 | #5 | #389 |
| Audiology | #2 | #2 | #394 |
| Physical Therapy | #2 | #3 | #411 |
| Sports | #2 | #3 | #440 |
| Pharmacology | #3 | #10 | #447 |
| Ophthalmology | #3 | #7 | #452 |
| Clinical Psychology | #4 | #4 | #459 |
| Radiation Therapy | #3 | #7 | #489 |
| Pharmacy | #2 | #9 | #523 |
| Oncology | #2 | #5 | #528 |
| Urology | #4 | #15 | #631 |
| Cosmetology | #4 | #21 | #634 |
| Neurosurgery | #4 | #20 | #708 |
| Family medicine | #2 | #2 | #71 |
Environmental Science rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 273 in the World with 40,220 publications made and 1,033,067 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Environmental Science Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earth science and Geoscience | #1 | #1 | #160 |
| Hydrology and Water resources | #2 | #12 | #181 |
| Paleontology | #2 | #2 | #214 |
| Forestry | #5 | #10 | #232 |
| Environmental Management | #3 | #4 | #259 |
| Geology | #2 | #2 | #275 |
| Ecology | #5 | #5 | #287 |
| Environmental Engineering | #5 | #7 | #331 |
| Oceanography | #4 | #4 | #447 |
| Wildlife and Fisheries Management | #6 | #9 | #515 |
Chemistry rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 454 in the World with 32,243 publications made and 1,007,762 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Chemistry Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computational | #1 | #1 | #219 |
| Biochemical Engineering | #3 | #4 | #311 |
| Radiochemistry | #4 | #13 | #499 |
| Pharmacy | #2 | #9 | #523 |
| Biochemistry | #4 | #5 | #538 |
| Physical | #1 | #5 | #565 |
| Organic chemistry | #3 | #7 | #569 |
| Nanotechnology | #2 | #5 | #696 |
| Petrology and Geochemistry | #1 | #1 | #91 |
Engineering rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 517 in the World with 31,203 publications made and 798,626 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Engineering Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biochemical Engineering | #3 | #4 | #311 |
| Environmental Engineering | #5 | #7 | #331 |
| Construction Management | #5 | #6 | #348 |
| Metallurgy | #1 | #3 | #434 |
| Landscape Architecture | #4 | #9 | #447 |
| Engineering Management | #6 | #6 | #505 |
| Optics | #2 | #4 | #530 |
| Biotechnology | #4 | #9 | #546 |
| Telecommunications | #3 | #4 | #549 |
| Remote Sensing | #5 | #6 | #553 |
| Systems | #5 | #6 | #571 |
| Applied Physics | #2 | #4 | #592 |
| Architecture | #4 | #12 | #648 |
| Renewable Energy | #8 | #28 | #667 |
| Nanotechnology | #2 | #5 | #696 |
| Aviation | #9 | #10 | #767 |
| Reliability and Quality | #6 | #12 | #823 |
| Automation and Control | #5 | #28 | #892 |
| Operations Research | #5 | #14 | #906 |
| Computer Engineering | #4 | #19 | #1036 |
| Mining Engineering | #1 | #1 | #13 |
Physics rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 399 in the World with 30,377 publications made and 852,330 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Physics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molecular | #1 | #1 | #181 |
| Astrobiology | #1 | #1 | #241 |
| Condensed Matter | #1 | #1 | #245 |
| Theoretical | #3 | #3 | #287 |
| Optics | #2 | #4 | #530 |
| Applied Physics | #2 | #4 | #592 |
| Nanotechnology | #2 | #5 | #696 |
| Biophysics | #3 | #3 | #786 |
Computer Science rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 549 in the World with 24,791 publications made and 592,151 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Computer Science Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bioinformatics / Computational biology | #3 | #4 | #482 |
| Management Information Systems (MIS) | #8 | #8 | #523 |
| Neuroscience | #2 | #3 | #525 |
| Data Science | #4 | #4 | #531 |
| Telecommunications | #3 | #4 | #549 |
| Animation | #3 | #4 | #558 |
| Information Technology | #12 | #20 | #565 |
| Machine Learning | #5 | #8 | #598 |
| Cognitive Science | #2 | #4 | #688 |
| Computational Linguistics | #4 | #9 | #733 |
| Computer Vision | #4 | #8 | #766 |
| Software Engineering | #6 | #12 | #906 |
| Multimedia | #6 | #6 | #927 |
| Computer Engineering | #4 | #19 | #1036 |
| Cryptography and Distributed computing | #6 | #47 | #1523 |
Psychology rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 353 in the World with 20,443 publications made and 478,889 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Psychology Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human Sexuality | #3 | #3 | #146 |
| Education | #3 | #3 | #222 |
| Social Work | #5 | #5 | #239 |
| Occupational Therapy | #2 | #3 | #267 |
| Psychiatry | #3 | #4 | #367 |
| Special Education | #5 | #5 | #388 |
| Clinical Psychology | #4 | #4 | #459 |
| Neuroscience | #2 | #3 | #525 |
| Cognitive Science | #2 | #4 | #688 |
Mathematics rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 277 in the World with 16,280 publications made and 471,551 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Mathematics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics Education | #2 | #2 | #192 |
| Statistics | #1 | #1 | #312 |
| Actuarial Science | #2 | #2 | #314 |
| Applied Mathematics | #3 | #5 | #432 |
| Econometrics | #3 | #3 | #525 |
| Operations Research | #5 | #14 | #906 |
| Cryptography and Distributed computing | #6 | #47 | #1523 |
Economics rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 163 in the World with 15,618 publications made and 356,217 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Economics Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance | #3 | #3 | #279 |
| Actuarial Science | #2 | #2 | #314 |
| International Trade | #4 | #4 | #315 |
| Econometrics | #3 | #3 | #525 |
| Development Studies | #2 | #2 | #99 |
Business rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 358 in the World with 13,128 publications made and 240,333 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Business Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate | #1 | #2 | #122 |
| Entrepreneurship | #2 | #2 | #134 |
| Finance | #3 | #3 | #279 |
| Accounting | #3 | #3 | #295 |
| Advertising | #2 | #2 | #298 |
| Risk Management | #4 | #4 | #312 |
| Actuarial Science | #2 | #2 | #314 |
| International Trade | #4 | #4 | #315 |
| Construction Management | #5 | #6 | #348 |
| Marketing | #5 | #5 | #381 |
| Project Management | #6 | #6 | #457 |
| Management | #5 | #5 | #490 |
| Engineering Management | #6 | #6 | #505 |
| Management Information Systems (MIS) | #8 | #8 | #523 |
| Operations Research | #5 | #14 | #906 |
Art & Design rankings
University of the Witwatersrand ranked 320 in the World with 6,859 publications made and 112,808 citations received.
University of the Witwatersrand
Art & Design Subfield Rankings
| Field | Nat. | Cont. | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sculpture | #1 | #1 | #100 |
| Creative Writing | #4 | #4 | #165 |
| Music | #1 | #1 | #170 |
| Acting and Drama | #2 | #2 | #225 |
| Aesthetics | #2 | #2 | #234 |
| Literature | #3 | #3 | #236 |
| Photography | #2 | #2 | #248 |
| Cinematography | #2 | #2 | #269 |
| Landscape Architecture | #4 | #9 | #447 |
| Interior Design | #4 | #11 | #476 |
| Animation | #3 | #4 | #558 |
| Graphic Design | #5 | #6 | #614 |
| Architecture | #4 | #12 | #648 |
| Multimedia | #6 | #6 | #927 |
| Painting and Drawing | #1 | #1 | #100 |
