The University of Pretoria (UP) significantly improved its standing in the QS World University Rankings 2020 released on Wednesday. UP improved its global position in two of the six indicators, thus placing it among the top 52% universities in the QS rankings and among the top five South African universities.

The QS World University Rankings rate the top tertiary institutions around the world against several indicators, including academic reputation, employer reputation, the number of citations per faculty, the student-to-faculty ratio, and the number of international students. Ranked at position 232 globally on the Employer Reputation indicator, the University of Pretoria is placed firmly among the world’s top universities as an employer of choice. UP also improved its rankings in citations per faculty member, while the ranking for international faculty also showed an improvement compared to the previous year.

UP also improved in the overall rankings, moving up to the 501–550 range from the 561–570 range last year. Considering there are approximately 26 000 universities globally, this improved ranking positions the University of Pretoria among the top performing universities in the world, stated the QS body. 

This rating puts UP among some of the highly rated and top international academic institutions from the world’s economic giants such as Japan, China, Germany, US, India and Australia.

Professor Tawana Kupe, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria said, “The University of Pretoria is committed to quality and world-class academic standards, which make us a university of choice in South Africa, delivering both top academics as well as top graduates, both at undergraduate and post-graduate level. We are very pleased with these results, as this is critical in displaying our intention to be the number one university in Africa and among the top leading universities in the world.”

“UP is not only showing a marked improvement among its international peers, but also in South Africa. UP still has the second-highest number of staff members with PhDs (after UNISA), which clearly highlights the emphasis that our university places on the quality of education and research. In terms of our international university member associations, the University of Pretoria is ranked among the top 50 universities in terms of the BRICS Universities League, according to the 2019 QS BRICS University Rankings. UP’s ranking on graduate employability also depicts the emphasis that we place on improving the employability of our students. Consequently it is now, more than ever, very important for the University of Pretoria to constantly improve visibility and high-quality academic outputs,” Prof Kupe said.

“It has become very clear that as academic institutions continue to advance in what has become a very highly competitive environment, rankings are an important measure of quality of education and outcomes, including employability.  The aim of improving our ranks is to ensure that we provide high-quality education and cutting-edge knowledge that transforms lives, communities and sectors, our society and the African continent, and makes a contribution to the world. The University of Pretoria has the third-highest number of international students in South Africa. This means that the University of Pretoria now competes at the highest international levels for consideration, in terms of top students, top academics, and canvassing funding support. We are therefore very proud of all our dedicated staff and students for making this ranking possible,” concluded Prof Kupe.