​The University of Johannesburg (UJ) has again been recognised by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) for its consummate global academic and research performance in Development Studies (Top 100), Geography (Top 200), Law (Top 300), and English Language & Literature (Top 300), in the recent 2018 QS World University Rankings by Subject, which were released on the 28^th February 2018.

This year, QS evaluated more than 4500 institutions in 151 countries across 48 subjects in five broad subject areas, with only 1130 institutions featuring in this year’s subject rankings. UJ has been ranked globally in four subjects and in three broad subject areas, namely: Arts & Humanities (364), Social Sciences & Management (401–450), and Natural Sciences (451–500).

In these subject rankings, universities are assessed in each subject and broad subject area on four criteria, the first two indicators pertain to international reputation: ‘Academic Reputation’ and ‘Employer Reputation’, derived from QS’s global surveys of academics and employers, respectively. The second two indicators are dedicated to research excellence and impact: ‘Citations per Paper’ and ‘H-Index’, where the latter is based on the h-index which is a measure of both research output productivity and citation impact. These four criteria are then combined to produce rankings results for each of the subjects and broad subject areas, with the weightings suitably adapted for each subject discipline.

Development Studies Subject

UJ has retained its rank among the world’s top 100 universities for the Development Studies subject, located in the 51–100 band, and fourth in South Africa. UJ clinched top spot in South Africa and on the continent, in company with the University of Cape Town (UCT), for the ‘H-Index’ indicator ranked joint 22^nd worldwide up nine places from 31^st last year – an astounding reflection of UJ’s research excellence and stature on the global stage in this research field. This is further demonstrated by UJ’s result for the ‘Citations per Paper’ indicator, in which UJ placed 36^th globally and second in South Africa and on the continent, hard on the heels of UCT.

Law Subject

The Law subject at UJ has been ranked in the top 300 in the world, placed in the 251–300 band, and fifth in South Africa. The result for the ‘Employer Reputation’ indicator is noteworthy, climbing 11 spots from a global rank of 151 in last year’s 2017 release to a global rank of 140 in this year’s 2018 release, maintaining fifth position in South Africa.

Geography Subject

UJ has maintained its ranking in the top 200 in the world for the Geography subject, positioned in the 151–200 band, and third in South Africa and on the continent. For the ‘Citations per Paper’ indicator, UJ was ranked 89^th in the world and second in South Africa and in Africa, only behind the University of Cape Town (UCT). In addition, UJ was ranked 122^nd globally for the ‘H-Index’ indicator and placing third in South Africa and Africa.

English Language & Literature Subject

The English Language & Literature subject at UJ has been ranked in the top 300 globally, positioned in the 251–300 band, and situated fifth in South Africa and on the continent. In particular, a strong showing was seen for the ‘Citations per Paper’ indicator in which UJ was impressively ranked 84^th in the world, and third in South Africa and Africa.