​The University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) global stature and academic robustness have received a significant boost through its continued inclusion in a prestigious global ranking system that ranks subjects of the top universities worldwide.

The latest 2019 edition of the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS), produced by the same team responsible for the compilation of the renowned Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) – the Shanghai Ranking – highlights the world’s top universities in a range of subject areas.

It confirms that 12 subjects – across engineering, natural sciences, and the social sciences – at UJ are highly rated and regarded within the world’s Top 500, with seven of these placing first in the country.

Most notably, the field of Hospitality & Tourism Management – housed in UJ’s School of Tourism and Hospitality (STH) – is ranked 18th in the world, and is 1st in South Africa and on the continent. This is a further rise of two places from 20th attained last year.

Sociology is 1st in South Africa and on the continent, in fact the only African university to feature and ranked in the 101-150 band in the world; Geography is 1st in South Africa and on the continent, also ranked in 101-150 band in the world.

In addition to these subjects, other subjects in the Top 500 worldwide include:

Top 200

• Education – 1st in South Africa and on the continent, ranked in the 151-200 band in the world, a phenomenal rise of around 240 places from the 301-400 band in which it was ranked the year before

Top 300

• Chemical Engineering – joint 1st in South Africa and on the continent, ranked in the 201-300 band in the world
• Political Sciences – joint 1st in South Africa and on the continent, ranked in the 201-300 band in the world
• Earth Sciences – third in South Africa and on the continent, ranked in the 201-300 band in the world
• Communication – joint second in South Africa and on the continent, ranked in the 201-300 band in the world

Top 400

• Physics – joint 3rd in South Africa, ranked in the 301-400 band in the world
• Ecology – ranked in the 301-400 band in the world

Top 500

• Management – joint 1st in South Africa and on the continent, ranked in the 401-500 band in the world
• Mathematics – joint 2nd in South Africa, ranked in the 401-500 band in the world

Viewed from a national perspective, UJ’s subject areas for Hospitality & Tourism Management; Sociology; Geography; Education; Chemical Engineering; Political Sciences; and Management, have done exceptionally well, ranked first amongst all South African ranked universities. The Hospitality & Tourism Management subject area also remains uncontested at Africa’s first position.

These rankings analyse 4 000 universities and look at a collection of indicators, including measures of research productivity, research quality, research excellence, extent of international collaboration, research with top quality, and the highest academic recognitions.

The ShanghaiRanking Consultancy has been publishing the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) by academic subjects – GRAS – since 2009 and is considered one of the leading international league tables. Given the fact that this is the third time that UJ is evaluated at subject level, this achievement is exceptional and affirms the international stature of UJ’s offerings particularly in these subject areas.

Says Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of UJ, “This is a tremendous accomplishment and recognition of UJ’s active pursuit of global research excellence. For 12 subjects to be ranked in the top 500 worldwide cements our position as one of the world’s finest research universities. Such success is testament to the terrific hard work, academic brilliance and commitment of all our academic and research staff. The GRAS ranking follows the recent QS World University Rankings released in June 2019. These results are received with great joy and celebration, as we continue to forge ahead and scale new heights.”