University of South Africa
- Country
- South Africa
- Founded
- 1873
- Type
- Education
- ROR
- 048cwvf49
Where the rankings agree — and where they don't
But the 6 rankings disagree about this institution.
Range: rank 799–2865 (2066 positions apart).
Headline composite trimmed: dropped THE (#1201, most generous score) and ARWU (#801, harshest score).
Distance from FWUR composite
Diagnostic onlyPer-agency absolute distance from the trimmed-mean composite, in score space (0–100). Display only — does not feed back into the composite or any agency-quality measure. Lower means the agency reads this institution closer to the consensus.
- QS2,6
- THE7,5
- ARWU16,2
- CWUR0,8
- RUR6,6
- SCImago3,2
Why the divergence?
Research output, citations, and bibliometric coverage.
Academic and employer reputation surveys.
Mixed pillars including outcome and balance metrics.
Cycle alignment: agencies' latest publications mix years (2025/2026). Treat year-over-year deltas with care.
FWUR is a transparent synthesis of six published rankings — not a direct measurement of educational or research quality.
Try other agency subsets
Adjust the weights below to see how the consensus shifts. Custom views are not the canonical FWUR rank.
Pick your agencies (Mode C)
Toggle agencies to see how the composite + rank shift. The default is all six.
Custom views are not the canonical FWUR rank.
Re-rank with your priorities
Slide the weights below. The composite, dimension scores, and methodology label update live.
Source observations · inputs to FWUR rank
Ranking trajectory · 2005–2024
SCImago climbed #3708 → #2779 (2009–2024)
Show as table (accessible fallback)
| Year | QS | THE | ARWU | CWUR | RUR | SCImago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2006 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2008 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2009 | — | — | — | — | — | #3708 |
| 2010 | — | — | — | — | #560 | #3853 |
| 2011 | — | — | — | — | #554 | #3974 |
| 2012 | — | — | — | — | #615 | #4102 |
| 2013 | — | — | — | — | #667 | #4326 |
| 2014 | — | — | — | — | #679 | #4374 |
| 2015 | — | — | — | — | #740 | #4459 |
| 2016 | — | #601 | — | — | #682 | #4101 |
| 2017 | — | #801 | #701 | — | #659 | #3780 |
| 2018 | — | #801 | #701 | — | #702 | #3905 |
| 2019 | — | #1001 | #801 | #1417 | #695 | #1698 |
| 2020 | — | #1001 | #801 | #1409 | #657 | #3833 |
| 2021 | — | #1001 | #601 | #1416 | #638 | #3868 |
| 2022 | — | #801 | #901 | #1302 | #722 | #3689 |
| 2023 | — | #1001 | #901 | #1338 | #793 | #4394 |
| 2024 | #851 | #1001 | #901 | #1293 | #683 | #2779 |
Peer comparison cohort
Same country
| # | Institution | Students | Avg rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of the Free State | — | 1341.0 |
| 2 | University of the Western Cape | — | 1330.0 |
Global peers
| # | Institution | Country | Students | Avg rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvard University | Estados Unidos | — | 1.0 |
| 2 | University of Oxford | Reino Unido | — | 5.0 |
| 3 | Tsinghua University | China | — | 17.0 |
Where these numbers come from
- QS World University Rankings2024 cycle dataMethodology
- Times Higher Education World University Rankings2024 cycle dataMethodology
- Academic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai)2024 cycle dataMethodology
- Center for World University Rankings2024 cycle dataMethodology
- Round University Ranking2024 cycle dataMethodology
- SCImago Institutions Rankings2024 cycle dataMethodology
Licensing: Each ranking agency licenses its full data and methodology under terms specific to that agency. FWUR exposes per-cycle headline ranks under fair-use citation; for sub-indicator scores or commercial use, refer to each agency's licensing page. ADR-040 §결정 4 forbids constructing per-pillar "FWUR Teaching/Research/Reputation Score" naming until ≥4 of 6 agencies grant sub-indicator licensing.