UCT breaks into global top 150 in latest university rankings - IOL

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has once again secured its position as one of Africa's leading universities.

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has climbed into the global top 150, ranking among the world’s leading universities, according to the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.

UCT was ranked joint 147th globally in the 2027 edition, improving from joint 164th in the previous rankings.

It is also the highest-ranked university in sub-Saharan Africa.

The latest rankings, released on Wednesday, assess 2,297 universities across 118 countries and territories. 

UCT’s improved position comes as the broader presence of African universities in the rankings also grows. The number of ranked universities in sub-Saharan Africa increased from 55 to 69.

Nigeria has the largest number of ranked universities in the region, with 29 institutions included in the 2027 rankings.

The latest results indicate that the global higher education landscape is changing, as universities in Asia continue to make gains while several established institutions in the US and Europe show signs of relative decline across some measures.

UCT’s position places it among the institutions helping to raise the profile of universities outside the traditional higher education powerhouses of North America and Europe.

Globally, the University of Oxford retained first place for an 11th consecutive year, although its lead over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) narrowed to just 0.1 points.

MIT remained second, while Princeton University and Stanford University were joint third. The University of Cambridge was fifth and Harvard University sixth.

The rankings also show the continued rise of Asian universities.

China’s Tsinghua University moved up to 11th place, overtaking Switzerland’s ETH Zurich and becoming the highest-ranked university in Asia. Peking University was 13th, while the National University of Singapore climbed two places to 15th.

For the first time, three Asian universities appeared in the global top 15.

China also increased its number of universities in the top 200 from 13 to 17, with most of those institutions improving their positions.

South-east Asia also continued its upward trajectory. Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University rose from joint 31st to 28th, while the National University of Singapore reached 15th.

THE said improvements across Eastern Asia and the Asean region were largely driven by gains in research scores, with the latter also recording improvements in teaching.

Despite the changing landscape, universities in the United States and United Kingdom continue to dominate the upper reaches of the rankings.

Seven US universities feature in the top 10, while the UK has three.

However, THE reported a decline across several measures for universities in both countries, including research-related indicators.

The UK has 25 universities in the global top 200, one fewer than last year, while the US has 53, two fewer than in the previous edition.

The rankings showed that strong international reputations continue to support many institutions in the US and UK, even as performance across some other indicators weakens.

The 2027 rankings include 106 more universities than the previous edition.

For the first time, Albania and Malawi appeared in the rankings, with the University of Tirana and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences joining the list.

In total, 2,297 universities from 118 countries and territories feature in the 2027 rankings.