UCT leads in eight subjects nationally in latest subject rankings

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has recorded notable gains across several disciplines in the 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings by Subject. Three subject areas ranked in the global top 100, with additional strong performances in Law, Arts and Humanities and Life Sciences.

THE’s World University Rankings by Subject assess universities across major disciplinary areas using performance indicators designed to reflect excellence in teaching, research and global engagement.

The latest results show an upward movement in Medical and Health and a significant jump in Social Sciences, which rises into the top 100 after being placed in a lower band last year. UCT also retains a strong position in Education Studies, remaining among the world’s leading universities in the field.

“This performance reflects the depth and breadth of research expertise across UCT’s academic community and the sustained commitment of our academics to producing globally relevant, high-quality scholarship,” said the newly appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Internationalisation Professor Thokozani Majozi.

“This performance reflects the depth and breadth of research expertise across UCT’s academic community.”

Professor Majozi added that UCT’s subject results underscore the university’s balanced strengths: world-class performance in health-related fields, growing global recognition for social science scholarship and continued competitiveness in education and law fields.

“While rankings are only one lens through which to view institutional performance, they offer useful insight into how our work resonates internationally. These results speak to the university’s long-term investment in teaching and learning, research excellence, innovation and international collaboration, and to the collective effort required to sustain UCT’s position in an increasingly competitive global higher education landscape,” Majozi said.

UCT’s 2026 subject performance at a glance

In the top 100 globally

• Medical and Health tied at 75 (up from 78 in 2025), first in South Africa
• Social Sciences tied at 89 (up from the 101–125 band in 2025), first in South Africa
• Education Studies: 94 (ranked 91 in 2025), first in South Africa.

In the top 125

• Law: 101–125 (same band as 2025), first in South Africa

In the top 200

• Arts and Humanities: 151–175 (up from the 201–250 band in 2025), first in South Africa
• Life Sciences: 151–175 (same band as 2025), first in South Africa.

Psychology in the 201–250 band (first in South Africa); Business and Economics placed in the 251–300 band; Physical Sciences placed in the 301–400 band, tied in this band with the University of Johannesburg.

How THE’s World University Rankings by Subject work

In the subjects where UCT did not place first in South Africa, the University of Johannesburg came out tops.

THE publishes subject rankings across 11 broad subject areas, drawing on the same framework used in its overall world university rankings. UCT placed in the rankings for all 11 subjects.  The methodology uses 18 performance indicators grouped into five pillars – teaching; research environment; research quality; international outlook; and industry – with weightings adjusted to reflect disciplinary differences.

THE publishes exact rank positions for the top 100 institutions in each subject area. Beyond this threshold, universities are placed into ranking bands rather than assigned precise positions.