North-West University: Rankings

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North-West University ranked 8th in South Africa, 963rd in the global 2023 rating, and scored in the TOP 50% across 91 research topics. North-West University ranking is based on 3 factors: research output (EduRank's index has 17,665 academic publications and 273,410 citations attributed to the university), non-academic reputation, and the impact of 12 notable alumni.

Ranking Category
#963 of 14,131 In the World
#11 of 1,104 In Africa
#8 of 26 In South Africa
#18 of 1,011 For Theology / Divinity / Religious studies
#66 of 1,000 For Human Rights Law
#154 of 1,000 For International Law
#1936 of 7,446 For Alumni Impact
#1612 of 14,131 For Non-academic Prominence
Top50% For 88 other topics

Jump to topical rankings below

Acceptance rate and other statistics

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences rankings

North-West University ranked 7th for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences in South Africa and 397th in the World with 6,070 publications made and 55,205 citations received. Main research topics: Sociology, Political Science, Theology / Divinity / Religious studies, Demography, Law.

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences ranking Location
#7 of 24 In South Africa
#7 of 264 In Africa
#397 of 5,073 In the World

North-West University
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Publications & Citations

Year Liberal Arts & Social Sciences publications Liberal Arts & Social Sciences citations
1996 5 2
1997 3 1
1998 4 2
1999 2 0
2000 2 3
2001 2 0
2002 6 0
2003 6 13
2004 39 64
2005 50 83
2006 71 140
2007 60 52
2008 109 170
2009 212 184
2010 212 203
2011 295 419
2012 434 340
2013 604 412
2014 612 563
2015 504 311
2016 634 1403
2017 437 651
2018 426 662
2019 419 397
2020 443 558
2021 479 170

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences.

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Theology / Divinity / Religious studies 3 3 18
Human Rights Law 4 4 66
International Law 6 6 154
Philosophy 4 4 185
Law 6 6 190
Education Majors 7 7 205
Art History 2 2 212
Linguistics 5 6 265
Social Work 6 6 282
Gender Studies 11 11 307
Sociology 8 8 317
Political Science 9 9 317
Law Enforcement 7 7 323
Special Education 7 7 334
History 10 10 335
Urban and Regional planning 5 5 338
Communications and Public Relations 8 8 355
Genealogy 11 11 393
Publishing 8 8 398
Aesthetics 8 8 404
Public Policy / Administration 9 11 424
Criminology and Criminal Justice 8 8 452
Early Childhood Education 8 10 484
Journalism and Digital Media 9 9 490
Sports / Exercise science 4 6 519
Intellectual Property and Patent Law 7 7 531
Classics and Ancient History 10 13 572
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution 11 12 579
Demography 6 15 591
Anthropology 11 18 593
Political Economy 11 19 599
Media Studies 11 14 620
Occupational Safety and Health 8 20 683
Archaeology 12 17 689
Forensic Science 9 15 694
Library and Information science 11 18 694
International Relations and Diplomacy 13 25 716
Broadcast Journalism 11 22 747
Radio and Television broadcasting 12 29 762
Military science 13 23 925

Medicine rankings

North-West University ranked 8th for Medicine in South Africa and 899th in the World with 2,954 publications made and 57,898 citations received. Main research topics: Health Science, Public Health, Clinical Psychology, Nursing, Pharmacology.

Medicine ranking Location
#8 of 24 In South Africa
#24 of 263 In Africa
#899 of 4,739 In the World

North-West University
Medicine Publications & Citations

Year Medicine publications Medicine citations
1991 0 0
1992 0 0
1993 0 0
1994 0 0
1995 0 0
1996 3 4
1997 1 0
1998 1 0
1999 1 0
2000 3 9
2001 0 0
2002 2 20
2003 1 1
2004 24 43
2005 31 107
2006 35 67
2007 45 125
2008 53 181
2009 54 188
2010 62 170
2011 132 517
2012 139 209
2013 179 307
2014 252 537
2015 213 509
2016 271 1203
2017 202 1219
2018 242 592
2019 275 508
2020 340 729
2021 391 138

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Medicine.

Medicine subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Social Work 6 6 282
Nursing 8 10 352
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 8 13 420
Clinical Psychology 3 3 420
Gerontology 4 6 451
Veterinary 8 44 460
Public Health 7 26 487
Sports / Exercise science 4 6 519
Toxicology 7 24 523
Psychiatry 8 13 612
Healthcare Management (MHA) 10 26 620
Pharmacology 6 19 649
Health Science 8 13 682
Family medicine 10 40 682
Forensic Science 9 15 694
Epidemiology 9 36 762
Occupational Therapy 8 13 769
Pediatrics 9 45 787
Critical Care Nursing 7 19 823
Cardiology 6 14 834
Paramedicine and Emergency medicine 9 38 861
Pharmacy 11 23 900
Physical Therapy 6 15 932
Optometry 15 66 970
Virology 9 40 992
Anatomy and Physiology 8 22 1022
Immunology 9 48 1213
Surgery 9 53 1234
Oncology and Cancer research 8 26 1309

Biology rankings

North-West University ranked 8th for Biology in South Africa and 1026th in the World with 2,581 publications made and 47,358 citations received. Main research topics: Agricultural Science, Zoology, Botany, Pharmacology, Biochemistry.

Biology ranking Location
#8 of 24 In South Africa
#21 of 264 In Africa
#1026 of 4,496 In the World

North-West University
Biology Publications & Citations

Year Biology publications Biology citations
1991 0 0
1992 0 0
1993 0 0
1994 0 0
1995 0 0
1996 1 3
1997 1 0
1998 5 7
1999 4 1
2000 3 9
2001 3 4
2002 6 26
2003 4 8
2004 20 17
2005 26 97
2006 38 65
2007 42 114
2008 51 90
2009 73 199
2010 87 230
2011 99 385
2012 147 248
2013 165 588
2014 176 401
2015 164 393
2016 235 425
2017 189 681
2018 207 719
2019 220 445
2020 278 381
2021 334 144

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Biology.

Biology subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Agricultural Science 6 14 266
Forestry 9 22 321
Biotechnology 7 10 324
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 8 13 420
Zoology 8 10 479
Toxicology 7 24 523
Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Conservation 11 21 547
Animal Science 9 34 645
Pharmacology 6 19 649
Horticulture 8 43 672
Astrobiology 6 10 691
Botany 9 18 727
Entomology 9 30 732
Nutrition and Food Science 11 46 857
Evolutionary Biology 10 14 874
Microbiology 8 27 953
Bioinformatics and Computational biology 8 11 961
Virology 9 40 992
Genetics 8 12 1010
Immunology 9 48 1213
Biochemistry 9 21 1269
Nanotechnology 8 14 1295
Oncology and Cancer research 8 26 1309

Environmental Science rankings

North-West University ranked 7th for Environmental Science in South Africa and 560th in the World with 2,464 publications made and 39,343 citations received. Main research topics: Geography and Cartography, Ecology, Environmental Management, Agricultural Science, Environmental Chemistry.

Environmental Science ranking Location
#7 of 23 In South Africa
#8 of 243 In Africa
#560 of 4,023 In the World

North-West University
Environmental Science Publications & Citations

Year Environmental Science publications Environmental Science citations
1995 1 0
1996 1 0
1997 1 0
1998 2 1
1999 5 3
2000 1 6
2001 7 4
2002 2 4
2003 7 9
2004 19 56
2005 19 22
2006 46 65
2007 29 35
2008 62 123
2009 65 128
2010 117 189
2011 102 134
2012 176 337
2013 178 247
2014 195 518
2015 195 406
2016 237 637
2017 192 710
2018 135 380
2019 181 459
2020 221 350
2021 268 165

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Environmental Science.

Environmental Science subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Mining Engineering 2 2 85
Agricultural Science 6 14 266
Forestry 9 22 321
Environmental Management 6 6 327
Urban and Regional planning 5 5 338
Geography and Cartography 7 8 351
Ecology 9 10 522
Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Conservation 11 21 547
Environmental Chemistry 5 11 624
Environmental Engineering 8 19 636
Petrology and Geochemistry 9 34 720
Hydrology and Water resources management 9 33 761
Meteorology and Atmospheric Science 7 19 779
Geology 11 45 1212

Psychology rankings

North-West University ranked 5th for Psychology in South Africa and 470th in the World with 2,323 publications made and 51,238 citations received. Main research topics: Social Psychology, Education Majors, Child Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Organizational / Business / IO Psychology.

Psychology ranking Location
#5 of 23 In South Africa
#5 of 116 In Africa
#470 of 3,654 In the World

North-West University
Psychology Publications & Citations

Year Psychology publications Psychology citations
1991 0 0
1992 0 0
1993 0 0
1994 0 0
1995 0 0
1996 0 0
1997 1 3
1998 4 2
1999 0 0
2000 2 5
2001 0 0
2002 1 0
2003 5 21
2004 15 17
2005 24 68
2006 34 145
2007 29 153
2008 64 279
2009 65 125
2010 71 352
2011 125 469
2012 141 445
2013 249 440
2014 276 629
2015 172 335
2016 285 756
2017 171 287
2018 146 305
2019 132 228
2020 148 260
2021 162 77

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Psychology.

Psychology subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Organizational / Business / IO Psychology 2 2 161
Education Majors 7 7 205
Social Work 6 6 282
Social Psychology 1 1 285
Special Education 7 7 334
Clinical Psychology 3 3 420
Child Psychology 5 6 542
Sexology 11 19 567
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution 11 12 579
Psychiatry 8 13 612
Occupational Therapy 8 13 769
Cognitive Science 6 8 870

Business rankings

North-West University ranked 7th for Business in South Africa and 477th in the World with 1,970 publications made and 25,109 citations received. Main research topics: Marketing, Hospitality and Hotel Management, Management, Advertising, Public Policy / Administration.

Business ranking Location
#7 of 22 In South Africa
#7 of 186 In Africa
#477 of 4,001 In the World

North-West University
Business Publications & Citations

Year Business publications Business citations
1991 0 0
1992 0 0
1993 1 0
1994 0 0
1995 0 0
1996 1 0
1997 1 143
1998 2 7
1999 0 0
2000 0 0
2001 0 0
2002 4 0
2003 0 0
2004 13 17
2005 22 77
2006 22 30
2007 16 30
2008 55 80
2009 64 53
2010 69 139
2011 128 155
2012 153 198
2013 156 147
2014 197 221
2015 162 146
2016 232 401
2017 130 113
2018 120 169
2019 128 216
2020 131 193
2021 162 158

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Business.

Business subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Hospitality and Hotel Management 2 2 72
Management 3 3 238
Advertising 2 2 251
Human Resource Management 6 7 283
International Trade 6 6 338
Entrepreneurship 6 9 394
Marketing 7 8 415
Public Policy / Administration 9 11 424
International Business 6 6 441
Actuarial Science 4 4 455
Accounting 7 12 486
Risk Management 6 6 488
Entertainment Industry Business 6 8 522
Finance 7 12 547
Tax Law 7 11 572
Management Information Systems 9 9 661
Investment Banking and Stock trading 8 15 670
Project Management 7 7 683
Occupational Safety and Health 8 20 683
Engineering Management 7 11 741
Construction Management 9 24 817

Chemistry rankings

North-West University ranked 9th for Chemistry in South Africa and 1387th in the World with 1,456 publications made and 33,820 citations received. Main research topics: Materials Science, Radiochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Inorganic Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry.

Chemistry ranking Location
#9 of 24 In South Africa
#27 of 229 In Africa
#1387 of 4,317 In the World

North-West University
Chemistry Publications & Citations

Year Chemistry publications Chemistry citations
2001 2 1
2002 0 0
2003 1 0
2004 10 13
2005 25 57
2006 20 19
2007 23 63
2008 33 95
2009 33 83
2010 51 213
2011 42 202
2012 72 186
2013 73 164
2014 100 336
2015 121 591
2016 130 499
2017 127 485
2018 121 459
2019 141 444
2020 155 400
2021 175 161

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Chemistry.

Chemistry subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Environmental Chemistry 5 11 624
Radiochemistry 5 16 699
Biochemical Engineering 11 12 711
Petrology and Geochemistry 9 34 720
Polymer science and Plastics engineering 9 14 823
Computational Chemistry 6 12 848
Nutrition and Food Science 11 46 857
Pharmacy 11 23 900
Physical chemistry 9 26 942
Inorganic Chemistry 8 22 986
Organic Chemistry 9 22 1183
Biochemistry 9 21 1269
Chemical Engineering 11 23 1288
Nanotechnology 8 14 1295
Materials Science 12 36 1686

Physics rankings

North-West University ranked 8th for Physics in South Africa and 1286th in the World with 1,416 publications made and 52,429 citations received. Main research topics: Astrophysics and Astronomy, Materials Science, Theoretical Physics, Nanotechnology, Astrobiology.

Physics ranking Location
#8 of 22 In South Africa
#21 of 182 In Africa
#1286 of 4,082 In the World

North-West University
Physics Publications & Citations

Year Physics publications Physics citations
1991 0 0
1992 0 0
1993 0 0
1994 0 0
1995 1 0
1996 0 0
1997 0 0
1998 1 6
1999 1 1
2000 0 0
2001 1 0
2002 4 1
2003 4 2
2004 15 104
2005 38 196
2006 30 387
2007 28 196
2008 55 222
2009 44 237
2010 53 282
2011 41 210
2012 53 171
2013 87 564
2014 89 298
2015 87 381
2016 102 407
2017 108 419
2018 119 384
2019 142 423
2020 168 541
2021 144 132

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Physics.

Physics subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Astrophysics and Astronomy 2 2 248
Theoretical Physics 5 10 617
Astrobiology 6 10 691
Nanotechnology 8 14 1295
Materials Science 12 36 1686

Engineering rankings

North-West University ranked 9th for Engineering in South Africa and 1363rd in the World with 1,389 publications made and 24,916 citations received. Main research topics: Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, Renewable Energy Engineering.

Engineering ranking Location
#9 of 23 In South Africa
#25 of 231 In Africa
#1363 of 4,624 In the World

North-West University
Engineering Publications & Citations

Year Engineering publications Engineering citations
1997 1 143
1998 0 0
1999 0 0
2000 1 0
2001 1 0
2002 0 0
2003 0 0
2004 7 18
2005 12 12
2006 15 15
2007 17 35
2008 34 69
2009 22 41
2010 56 167
2011 74 70
2012 92 125
2013 71 194
2014 135 201
2015 111 253
2016 123 191
2017 110 442
2018 103 311
2019 128 338
2020 141 332
2021 135 99

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Engineering.

Engineering subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Mining Engineering 2 2 85
Nuclear Engineering 1 2 244
Architectural Engineering 1 5 246
Biotechnology 7 10 324
Landscape Architecture 5 11 592
Environmental Engineering 8 19 636
Systems Engineering 5 7 654
Civil Engineering 5 20 658
Biochemical Engineering 11 12 711
Reliability and Quality Engineering 5 11 716
Engineering Management 7 11 741
Agricultural Engineering 9 37 751
Aviation 9 11 787
Automotive Engineering 9 22 792
Construction Management 9 24 817
Polymer science and Plastics engineering 9 14 823
Renewable Energy Engineering 11 33 842
Aerospace Engineering 7 10 856
Telecommunications 9 17 930
Metallurgical Engineering 8 32 1153
Chemical Engineering 11 23 1288
Nanotechnology 8 14 1295
Automation and Control engineering 8 50 1519
Materials Science 12 36 1686

Economics rankings

North-West University ranked 8th for Economics in South Africa and 405th in the World with 1,327 publications made and 10,472 citations received. Main research topics: Development Studies, Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, Finance, Investment Banking and Stock trading, Actuarial Science.

Economics ranking Location
#8 of 22 In South Africa
#9 of 159 In Africa
#405 of 3,039 In the World

North-West University
Economics Publications & Citations

Year Economics publications Economics citations
1995 1 0
1996 1 0
1997 0 0
1998 1 7
1999 1 0
2000 1 0
2001 2 0
2002 0 0
2003 2 0
2004 7 7
2005 18 44
2006 16 15
2007 9 2
2008 24 17
2009 43 34
2010 49 87
2011 67 70
2012 115 73
2013 106 86
2014 168 127
2015 94 61
2016 143 228
2017 102 80
2018 93 90
2019 78 43
2020 83 90
2021 102 56

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Economics.

Economics subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Development Studies 9 10 147
Agricultural Economics 9 22 327
International Trade 6 6 338
Environmental Economics 5 5 365
International Economics 6 9 430
Actuarial Science 4 4 455
Finance 7 12 547
Political Economy 11 19 599
Investment Banking and Stock trading 8 15 670
Econometrics and Mathematical Economics 9 12 702
International Relations and Diplomacy 13 25 716

Art & Design rankings

North-West University ranked 6th for Art & Design in South Africa and 462nd in the World with 1,016 publications made and 2,562 citations received. Main research topics: Literature, Creative Writing, Art History, Aesthetics, Fashion Design.

Please note that our approach to subject rankings is based on scientific outputs and heavily biased on art-related topics towards institutions with computer science research profiles.

Art & Design ranking Location
#6 of 19 In South Africa
#6 of 66 In Africa
#462 of 2,700 In the World

North-West University
Art & Design Publications & Citations

Year Art & Design publications Art & Design citations
2002 2 0
2003 0 0
2004 7 0
2005 18 2
2006 9 1
2007 11 1
2008 10 1
2009 29 9
2010 51 14
2011 44 8
2012 117 53
2013 145 32
2014 108 19
2015 107 27
2016 99 36
2017 65 40
2018 55 29
2019 47 19
2020 49 26
2021 42 5

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Art & Design.

Art & Design subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Literature 5 5 124
Singing and Vocal Performance 2 2 185
Creative Writing 7 7 199
Art History 2 2 212
Music 1 1 224
Fashion Design 9 9 275
Performing arts 6 6 327
Aesthetics 8 8 404
Entertainment Industry Business 6 8 522
Illustration and Concept Art 7 10 554
Painting and Drawing 8 11 565
Sculpture 8 11 565
Landscape Architecture 5 11 592
Interior Design 6 22 656
Multimedia 4 6 783
Cinematography 10 15 794
Graphic Design 9 13 930
Photography 13 20 974
Animation 7 14 1066

Mathematics rankings

North-West University ranked 7th for Mathematics in South Africa and 692nd in the World with 773 publications made and 14,374 citations received. Main research topics: Math Teachers, Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Actuarial Science.

Mathematics ranking Location
#7 of 23 In South Africa
#10 of 140 In Africa
#692 of 3,376 In the World

North-West University
Mathematics Publications & Citations

Year Mathematics publications Mathematics citations
1991 0 0
1992 0 0
1993 1 0
1994 0 0
1995 0 0
1996 0 0
1997 1 143
1998 1 1
1999 0 0
2000 0 0
2001 1 0
2002 0 0
2003 0 0
2004 6 7
2005 11 8
2006 9 9
2007 11 13
2008 23 38
2009 27 25
2010 18 59
2011 41 27
2012 49 169
2013 54 56
2014 68 142
2015 63 107
2016 89 226
2017 58 109
2018 46 127
2019 69 55
2020 62 89
2021 64 29

The following table provides academic rankings for North-West University in various areas of Mathematics.

Mathematics subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Math Teachers 7 9 310
Actuarial Science 4 4 455
Econometrics and Mathematical Economics 9 12 702
Statistics 8 9 773
Applied Mathematics 8 16 799

Other rankings

Non-core subjects for North-West University

Speciality South Africa Africa World Rank
Information Technology 6 8 416
Data Science 8 16 847
Computational Linguistics 4 11 869
Computer Science 8 18 1320
Artificial Intelligence (AI) 9 36 1781