UCT’s development studies in top 10

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has moved from 10th to 9th in the world and is among the top 100 institutions for a further four subjects. This is according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2022, released earlier this month.

“UCT continues to shine internationally in the field of development studies,” said UCT Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Internationalisation Professor Sue Harrison.

“Although we realise that such rankings rely on metrics that cannot capture comprehensively the complex realities on the ground, we are pleased to be recognised as one of the top universities in the world in this field. We see it is as a reflection of our commitment to addressing the grand challenges of our country, our continent and the Global South. We are also delighted that – beyond development studies – so many of our subjects ranked highly, indicating the strength and breadth of the research and teaching at UCT.”

UCT ranked in 35 of the 51 subjects assessed by QS. In addition to development studies at 9th, medicine ranked 88th and three subjects placed in the 51–100 range: anthropology, architecture / built environment, and geography.

Another 10 subjects ranked within the 101–150 range: agriculture and forestry; archaeology; communication and media studies; earth and marine sciences; English language and literature; environmental sciences; geology; geophysics; law; and social policy and administration.

Of the five broad subject areas identified by QS (into which the subjects are divided), UCT ranked best in life sciences and medicine, coming in at 109th (tied).

UCT’s other leading subjects

In the second half of 2021, Times Higher Education (THE) and the U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities released their latest subject rankings. THE placed UCT’s best-performing subject, clinical and health, at 98th globally. Six additional subjects at UCT came in THE’s top 200: arts and humanities; education; law; life sciences; psychology; and social sciences.

In the US News & World Report Best Global Universities Subject Rankings, UCT had five subjects in the top 100. Infectious diseases was the top-ranked subject for UCT at 13th position worldwide.

Review the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022.

Read more about the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022 methodology.