The University of Pretoria (UP) is one of only two universities in South Africa and on the continent to improve its position in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings (WUR). It is now ranked in the 501-600 band worldwide, a notable improvement from its previous ranking of 801-1000. This is remarkable achievement, especially when considering that the total number of ranked universities has risen from 1 799 to 1 904 from 108 countries around the world, and considering this competitiveness factor, this is UP’s best ever performance in the THE WUR.

The 20^th edition of the WUR introduced a revised methodology to ensure its relevance in capturing the achievements of a global array of research-intensive universities. The updated methodology has an extended set of bibliometric criteria, enhancements in international indicators, and an increased emphasis on promoting knowledge transfer.

The new additional indicators are:  research productivity, research strength, research excellence, research influence and patents. UP’s performance showed improvements in 10 out of 12 existing indicators, and the University excelled in the new research indicators, particularly in research productivity, research excellence, research impact and patents.

Considering the rankings based on broad indicators (teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook), UP made notable progress in its global standing in four out of the five broad indicators.

UP’s Interim Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Themba Mosia, congratulated the UP community on achieving such remarkable milestones.

“We are extremely proud of UP’s elevated standing which helps to entrench our position as a globally competitive university, rooted in Africa. This is a collective achievement for our academic and professional staff, students and partners at all levels – thank you and well done to everyone involved.”

“The overall enhanced recognition affirms that we are on track towards achieving our vision for the University of Pretoria to be a leading research-intensive university in Africa, recognised internationally for its quality, relevance and impact, and also for developing people, creating knowledge and making a difference locally and globally,” Prof Mosia said.