Stellenbosch University
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SU again improves its position on QS rankings for universities
Author: Corporate Communication/Korporatiewe Kommunikasie
Published: 08/06/2017

Stellenbosch University (SU) again improved its position on the QS World University Ranking 2017/18. SU is now second in South Africa after it was placed third in the 2016/17 rankings.

SU is now in position 361 on the rankings after it was ranked at number 395 last year. A total of 950 universities (43 more than last year) in 84 countries were included in the latest rankings.

The QS World Rankings for Universities is viewed as one of the most popular international rankings for universities. It is also the only global rankings that have been independently reviewed and approved by IREG, the Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence.

Universities included in the latest rankings were evaluated according to the following six performance indicators: academic reputation (40%), employer's reputation (10%), faculty / student ratio (20%), research citations per paper (20%), proportion of international faculty (5%) and proportion of international students (5%).

Prof Eugene Cloete, Vice-Rector: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, says that SU's view on rankings has always been to not place too much emphasis on them, that academic excellence is non-negotiable, that quality always comes first and that no attempt is being made to artificially influence any rankings.

"That said, we are delighted with our improvement on the rankings and regards it as a confirmation of SU's status as a world-class institution."

The University of Cape Town is still the best in South Africa – 191. The University of the Witwatersrand is now third –  at no. 364. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) still occupies the first place worldwide –  for the 6th consecutive year.