In the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2024, released 28 June 2023, the University of Cape Town (UCT) was ranked 173rd in the world. This is an impressive rise of 64 places from the previous year.
A total of 1 500 institutions from around the world were ranked, including 11 from South Africa. According to QS, UCT remains the best university in Africa, moving up to the top 12% internationally.
UCT’s improved performance of 64 places is largely attributed to the change in methodology introduced in this edition of the rankings. The new methodology looks at the university’s extensive international collaborations, graduate employment rates, and evaluates UCT’s contribution to social and environmental impact.
“UCT is delighted to record such an impressive jump in the rankings,” said Vice-Chancellor Emeritus Professor Daya Reddy.
“We are particularly pleased to see this new recognition of our international collaborations, together with recognition in the new category of social and environmental impact. Both are critical to our mission to create and teach the best of knowledge and in so doing to contribute towards addressing complex and critical challenges facing our country, our continent, and the world at large. The introduction of employment outcomes is also especially welcome in a country like South Africa, where higher education institutions have a critical role to play in addressing the vital need to increase employment opportunities.”
In May, UCT was ranked at 267th position by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) in their 2023 Global 2000 list, remaining the best university in Africa. CWUR releases the largest academic ranking of global universities, out of the 20 531 institutions assessed, only the top 2 000 receive a ranking, placing UCT in the top 1.4% of universities globally.
Below is an infographic that illustrates the top 10 universities in Africa according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings
