NWU
consistently shines in rankings
Let’s celebrate
Prof Dan Kgwadi, vice-chancellor and principal of the NWU, emphasised that although ranking is not a goal the university wants to pursue, the university celebrates its achievements in the rankings.
“It contributes to the NWU’s dream to be an internationally recognised university in Africa and the world, distinguished for engaged scholarship, social responsiveness and an ethic of care.
“We take these achievements with us on our journey to continued excellence in the higher education sector.”
Prof Dan Kgwadi, NWU vice-chancellor and principal.
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The NWU has proven itself to be an academic institution where excellence continues to triumph. This is evident in its constant good achievements in rankings by various international ranking agencies.
The university has continued to climb the rankings ladder after laying good foundations in previous years, celebrating achievements in 2018 and 2019. Since the beginning of 2020 the university has had very good showings in respected rankings agencies’ listings.
These include rankings by the Academic Ranking of World Universities in July, the Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR) in June, and the Times Higher Education (THE) Emerging Economies University Rankings in February. It was also the first time the NWU was featured in the THE Young University Rankings, which were announced in June. We also did very well in the latest ranking by the THE, announced on 20 September.
Click on each block below to read more about the individual rankings.
A first-class institution with quality offerings
The NWU’s quality offerings earned it a top 5 spot among local universities ranked in the Emerging Economies University Rankings of the THE in February.
Overall, the NWU was placed in position 109 out of the 533 universities from 47 countries. Apart from the NWU, nine other South African universities were also ranked.
NWU among the cream of the crop
The CWUR ranked the NWU in the top 4,7% of 20 000 universities globally. According to the CWUR, the NWU is among the top 922 universities in 61 countries.
The NWU also features in the top 7 nationally, and its research performance is ranked at 877. This gives the university an overall score of 70,8 – a remarkable achievement.
A quality player in the young university arena
The NWU was ranked among the best 101 to 150 universities out of more than 350 universities in the THE Young University Rankings. It was the first time that the NWU was included in this ranking, which focuses on universities that are 50 years old or younger.
Quality subjects equal quality education
According to the findings of the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), published at the end of July, we are first on the ranking ladder for mathematics in the national/regional ranking in South Africa. In fact, the NWU is the only South African university that appears in the top 500 for mathematics.
The NWU is ranked among the top universities in the 151 to 200 category in the areas of atmospheric sciences, clinical medicine, public health and hospitality and tourism management. It was also in the 301 to 400 category in the area of education.
THE ranking for 2021
The latest ranking by the THE is another feather in the cap for the NWU. This ranking places us among the top six 6 universities in South Africa and between 501 and 600 out of more than 1 500 universities across 93 countries and regions that were evaluated for the 2021 rankings.
Like last year, we achieved our top position in the area of citations – we are ranked among the top 5 universities in South Africa in this area.