Rhodes University: Rankings

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Rhodes University ranked 9th in South Africa, 1062nd in the global 2024 rating, and scored in the TOP 50% across 125 research topics. Rhodes University ranking is based on 3 factors: research output (EduRank's index has 15,986 academic publications and 259,741 citations attributed to the university), non-academic reputation, and the impact of 58 notable alumni.

Ranking Category
#1062 of 14,131 In the World
#14 of 1,104 In Africa
#9 of 26 In South Africa
#136 of 1,014 For Entomology
#237 of 1,000 For Forensic Science
#250 of 3,255 For Zoology
#1025 of 7,738 For Alumni Impact
#1369 of 14,131 For Non-academic Prominence
Top50% For 122 other topics

Jump to topical rankings below

Acceptance rate and other statistics

Biology rankings

Rhodes University ranked 9th for Biology in South Africa and 1008th in the World with 10,204 publications made and 193,597 citations received. Main research topics: Paleontology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Botany, Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Conservation.

Biology ranking Location
#9 of 24 In South Africa
#21 of 361 In Africa
#1008 of 6,770 In the World

Rhodes University
Biology Publications & Citations

Year Biology publications Biology citations
1991 75 635
1992 101 570
1993 86 473
1994 90 582
1995 89 582
1996 95 813
1997 99 655
1998 113 843
1999 113 1009
2000 95 1193
2001 102 1133
2002 112 1500
2003 132 1556
2004 139 1810
2005 153 1945
2006 219 2479
2007 240 3055
2008 239 3626
2009 264 4199
2010 285 5148
2011 378 5948
2012 347 6451
2013 405 7408
2014 401 8106
2015 398 8510
2016 444 9330
2017 495 9869
2018 483 10509
2019 513 12598
2020 535 15290
2021 622 17684
2022 588 18149
2023 496 17840

The following table provides academic rankings for Rhodes University in various areas of Biology.

Biology subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Entomology 4 4 136
Zoology 6 6 250
Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Conservation 2 2 253
Forestry 8 23 470
Animal Science 9 30 590
Botany 7 12 591
Agricultural Science 8 26 618
Paleontology 8 12 716
Horticulture 8 32 812
Toxicology 9 49 846
Nanotechnology 6 11 955
Pharmacology 7 31 1088
Microbiology 10 42 1091
Bioinformatics and Computational biology 9 18 1092
Astrobiology 8 20 1120
Virology 13 60 1143
Evolutionary Biology 11 18 1165
Biophysics 7 10 1244
Biochemistry 9 25 1265
Genetics 10 33 1331
Nutrition and Food Science 13 70 1352
Molecular Biology 8 19 1369
Biotechnology 12 49 1428
Neuroscience 11 29 1535
Immunology 11 64 1566
Oncology and Cancer research 11 59 1861

Environmental Science rankings

Rhodes University ranked 8th for Environmental Science in South Africa and 752nd in the World with 9,961 publications made and 177,586 citations received. Main research topics: Ecology, Geology, Geography and Cartography, Paleontology, Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Conservation.

Environmental Science ranking Location
#8 of 24 In South Africa
#13 of 361 In Africa
#752 of 6,798 In the World

Rhodes University
Environmental Science Publications & Citations

Year Environmental Science publications Environmental Science citations
1991 84 600
1992 102 541
1993 79 421
1994 85 516
1995 82 545
1996 79 719
1997 89 564
1998 116 755
1999 97 904
2000 86 1056
2001 101 1043
2002 109 1359
2003 129 1362
2004 122 1719
2005 142 1711
2006 212 2186
2007 222 2655
2008 250 3148
2009 246 3613
2010 248 4330
2011 334 4880
2012 317 5408
2013 389 6314
2014 378 6950
2015 409 7430
2016 434 8226
2017 467 8875
2018 481 9876
2019 527 11876
2020 526 14072
2021 644 17044
2022 561 17244
2023 498 17268

The following table provides academic rankings for Rhodes University in various areas of Environmental Science.

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences rankings

Rhodes University ranked 11th for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences in South Africa and 1018th in the World with 8,271 publications made and 100,973 citations received. Main research topics: Political Science, Law, Sociology, History, Philosophy.

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences ranking Location
#11 of 24 In South Africa
#16 of 367 In Africa
#1018 of 7,020 In the World

Rhodes University
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Publications & Citations

Year Liberal Arts & Social Sciences publications Liberal Arts & Social Sciences citations
1991 78 264
1992 93 241
1993 67 218
1994 72 215
1995 74 267
1996 72 349
1997 75 281
1998 73 355
1999 68 443
2000 70 466
2001 72 459
2002 94 641
2003 96 742
2004 106 837
2005 112 934
2006 169 1198
2007 149 1306
2008 188 1614
2009 200 1913
2010 205 2531
2011 256 2768
2012 295 3095
2013 352 3848
2014 339 4112
2015 365 4383
2016 400 4787
2017 405 5148
2018 404 5774
2019 423 7087
2020 417 8810
2021 526 10573
2022 438 10530
2023 448 11205

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

Engineering rankings

Rhodes University ranked 10th for Engineering in South Africa and 1360th in the World with 6,557 publications made and 129,368 citations received. Main research topics: Materials Science, Optical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Nanotechnology, Chemical Engineering.

Engineering ranking Location
#10 of 24 In South Africa
#28 of 348 In Africa
#1360 of 6,684 In the World

Rhodes University
Engineering Publications & Citations

Year Engineering publications Engineering citations
1991 42 230
1992 58 260
1993 34 227
1994 45 228
1995 46 269
1996 51 321
1997 44 302
1998 71 376
1999 62 517
2000 49 555
2001 66 543
2002 71 721
2003 71 883
2004 72 878
2005 79 1088
2006 132 1275
2007 145 1682
2008 151 2005
2009 162 2372
2010 167 2867
2011 222 3305
2012 221 3719
2013 271 4440
2014 295 4944
2015 310 5570
2016 304 6492
2017 353 6878
2018 354 7723
2019 387 9312
2020 381 11278
2021 455 13252
2022 427 14224
2023 332 13971

The following table provides academic rankings for Rhodes University in various areas of Engineering.

Engineering subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Mining Engineering 13 53 834
Environmental Engineering 12 31 878
Remote Sensing 6 15 889
Nanotechnology 6 11 955
Geotechnical Engineering 7 25 958
Civil Engineering 8 23 1078
Metallurgical Engineering 10 26 1166
Acoustical Engineering 9 23 1292
Optical Engineering 10 26 1302
Materials Science 10 28 1340
Chemical Engineering 11 31 1353
Biotechnology 12 49 1428
Computer Networking 10 34 1438
Aerospace Engineering 8 32 1474
Telecommunications 10 45 1660
Mechanical Engineering 13 49 1789
Human-Computer Interaction 14 46 2012
Systems Engineering 15 64 2038
Electronic Engineering 10 66 2147
Structural Engineering 13 70 2166
Electrical Engineering 14 82 2202

Chemistry rankings

Rhodes University ranked 9th for Chemistry in South Africa and 1275th in the World with 6,428 publications made and 133,698 citations received. Main research topics: Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Materials Science, Nanotechnology, Physical chemistry.

Chemistry ranking Location
#9 of 24 In South Africa
#25 of 342 In Africa
#1275 of 6,447 In the World

Rhodes University
Chemistry Publications & Citations

Year Chemistry publications Chemistry citations
1991 43 363
1992 70 397
1993 59 333
1994 66 397
1995 68 415
1996 61 494
1997 66 478
1998 87 576
1999 67 709
2000 72 800
2001 73 833
2002 75 984
2003 77 1130
2004 91 1251
2005 91 1378
2006 121 1640
2007 162 2105
2008 140 2418
2009 168 2891
2010 180 3467
2011 233 4023
2012 210 4505
2013 249 5016
2014 232 5506
2015 252 5908
2016 265 6766
2017 294 6986
2018 331 7653
2019 337 9015
2020 350 10882
2021 406 12359
2022 371 12620
2023 305 12319

The following table provides academic rankings for Rhodes University in various areas of Chemistry.

Chemistry subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Petrology and Geochemistry 7 9 530
Pharmacy 5 14 727
Inorganic Chemistry 6 14 814
Radiochemistry 9 27 877
Nanotechnology 6 11 955
Environmental Chemistry 10 26 1008
Physical chemistry 8 22 1128
Organic Chemistry 9 22 1170
Computational Chemistry 10 32 1255
Biochemistry 9 25 1265
Materials Science 10 28 1340
Nutrition and Food Science 13 70 1352
Chemical Engineering 11 31 1353

Physics rankings

Rhodes University ranked 10th for Physics in South Africa and 1340th in the World with 6,107 publications made and 124,193 citations received. Main research topics: Quantum and Particle physics, Materials Science, Optical Engineering, Astrophysics and Astronomy, Nanotechnology.

Physics ranking Location
#10 of 24 In South Africa
#27 of 341 In Africa
#1340 of 6,603 In the World

Rhodes University
Physics Publications & Citations

Year Physics publications Physics citations
1991 36 243
1992 51 268
1993 40 220
1994 51 228
1995 57 329
1996 52 326
1997 40 300
1998 54 347
1999 53 489
2000 53 494
2001 61 531
2002 62 659
2003 63 814
2004 69 785
2005 73 978
2006 109 1181
2007 128 1576
2008 131 1795
2009 146 2183
2010 153 2577
2011 189 2981
2012 202 3426
2013 242 3910
2014 265 4332
2015 305 5014
2016 313 6135
2017 322 6540
2018 351 7381
2019 352 9059
2020 348 10985
2021 423 12694
2022 376 13591
2023 305 13414

The following table provides academic rankings for Rhodes University in various areas of Physics.

Physics subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Atomic and Molecular physics 6 14 896
Astrophysics and Astronomy 8 13 948
Nanotechnology 6 11 955
Nuclear Physics 9 19 989
Astrobiology 8 20 1120
Biophysics 7 10 1244
Acoustical Engineering 9 23 1292
Optical Engineering 10 26 1302
Materials Science 10 28 1340
Quantum and Particle physics 10 29 1390
Theoretical Physics 13 36 1390
Condensed Matter Physics 11 62 2088

Medicine rankings

Rhodes University ranked 12th for Medicine in South Africa and 1388th in the World with 4,582 publications made and 78,792 citations received. Main research topics: Public Health, Pathology, Psychiatry, Nursing, Immunology.

Medicine ranking Location
#12 of 24 In South Africa
#47 of 360 In Africa
#1388 of 6,680 In the World

Rhodes University
Medicine Publications & Citations

Year Medicine publications Medicine citations
1991 42 282
1992 37 258
1993 38 208
1994 35 280
1995 37 244
1996 45 329
1997 39 243
1998 46 410
1999 45 424
2000 41 450
2001 43 419
2002 46 503
2003 45 543
2004 60 609
2005 70 701
2006 96 1034
2007 108 1195
2008 117 1480
2009 132 1684
2010 122 2110
2011 170 2328
2012 160 2580
2013 181 3094
2014 166 3401
2015 198 3550
2016 202 3721
2017 212 3938
2018 223 4214
2019 241 5315
2020 264 6648
2021 313 8023
2022 284 7990
2023 266 8448

The following table provides academic rankings for Rhodes University in various areas of Medicine.

Medicine subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Forensic Science 4 4 237
Veterinary 10 48 675
Pharmacy 5 14 727
Social Work 13 22 789
Toxicology 9 49 846
Public Health 12 31 876
Nursing 12 38 976
Family medicine 13 59 1025
Pharmacology 7 31 1088
Urology 8 37 1130
Virology 13 60 1143
Healthcare Management (MHA) 16 63 1300
Paramedicine and Emergency medicine 14 61 1468
Sports Medicine 9 24 1473
Clinical Psychology 12 31 1485
Health Science 16 52 1499
Immunology 11 64 1566
Anatomy and Physiology 11 41 1574
Pathology 13 63 1623
Physical Therapy 10 39 1672
Gerontology 12 44 1707
Psychiatry 12 53 1771
Oncology and Cancer research 11 59 1861
Dentistry 14 71 1978
Radiology and Nuclear medicine 12 70 2129
Surgery 16 101 2318

Computer Science rankings

Rhodes University ranked 11th for Computer Science in South Africa and 1557th in the World with 4,430 publications made and 69,230 citations received. Main research topics: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Telecommunications, Computer Networking, Neuroscience, Machine Learning.

Computer Science ranking Location
#11 of 24 In South Africa
#33 of 352 In Africa
#1557 of 6,752 In the World

Rhodes University
Computer Science Publications & Citations

Year Computer Science publications Computer Science citations
1991 34 125
1992 41 101
1993 30 123
1994 29 152
1995 37 137
1996 32 185
1997 32 147
1998 31 181
1999 32 229
2000 35 219
2001 35 224
2002 40 298
2003 42 372
2004 59 412
2005 51 496
2006 88 594
2007 85 715
2008 105 795
2009 95 968
2010 102 1310
2011 132 1430
2012 151 1614
2013 177 2012
2014 189 2348
2015 204 2555
2016 219 3193
2017 243 3638
2018 235 4221
2019 272 5421
2020 225 6767
2021 328 8294
2022 280 9257
2023 273 9194

The following table provides academic rankings for Rhodes University in various areas of Computer Science.

Computer Science subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Library and Information science 7 9 697
Bioinformatics and Computational biology 9 18 1092
Management Information Systems 13 22 1162
Multimedia 9 16 1235
Cyber Security 10 30 1343
Computer Graphics 7 20 1394
Computer Networking 10 34 1438
Neuroscience 11 29 1535
Telecommunications 10 45 1660
Software Engineering 10 36 1666
Computational Linguistics 10 45 1684
Artificial Intelligence (AI) 11 48 1936
Human-Computer Interaction 14 46 2012
Blockchain and Cryptography 11 66 2026
Data Science 15 55 2030
Cognitive Science 10 44 2037
Computer Vision 12 54 2044
Machine Learning 12 77 2171

Psychology rankings

Rhodes University ranked 11th for Psychology in South Africa and 1366th in the World with 2,638 publications made and 33,494 citations received. Main research topics: Social Psychology, Education Majors, Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Child Psychology.

Psychology ranking Location
#11 of 24 In South Africa
#29 of 344 In Africa
#1366 of 6,528 In the World

Rhodes University
Psychology Publications & Citations

Year Psychology publications Psychology citations
1991 16 64
1992 24 66
1993 17 73
1994 18 74
1995 25 87
1996 27 114
1997 19 90
1998 18 105
1999 16 121
2000 24 134
2001 24 152
2002 22 158
2003 26 181
2004 46 224
2005 38 258
2006 60 392
2007 51 373
2008 59 489
2009 63 598
2010 73 740
2011 84 850
2012 101 960
2013 126 1159
2014 98 1399
2015 117 1409
2016 147 1417
2017 136 1589
2018 142 1817
2019 171 2148
2020 132 2938
2021 196 3351
2022 162 3339
2023 166 3707

The following table provides academic rankings for Rhodes University in various areas of Psychology.

Psychology subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution 10 10 546
Sexology 11 17 562
Education Majors 11 12 640
Social Work 13 22 789
Social Psychology 11 18 1218
Child Psychology 11 23 1284
Clinical Psychology 12 31 1485
Neuroscience 11 29 1535
Psychiatry 12 53 1771
Cognitive Science 10 44 2037

Economics rankings

Rhodes University ranked 11th for Economics in South Africa and 861st in the World with 2,431 publications made and 32,553 citations received. Main research topics: Development Studies, Finance, Political Economy, Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, Agricultural Economics.

Economics ranking Location
#11 of 24 In South Africa
#22 of 338 In Africa
#861 of 5,995 In the World

Rhodes University
Economics Publications & Citations

Year Economics publications Economics citations
1991 15 37
1992 22 40
1993 15 36
1994 24 29
1995 30 56
1996 12 72
1997 16 51
1998 19 45
1999 18 86
2000 25 92
2001 15 88
2002 33 114
2003 27 146
2004 38 183
2005 38 204
2006 54 248
2007 54 344
2008 49 362
2009 57 453
2010 63 610
2011 81 764
2012 100 900
2013 121 1104
2014 110 1164
2015 109 1271
2016 133 1405
2017 118 1484
2018 132 1640
2019 150 2158
2020 139 2673
2021 176 3455
2022 155 3576
2023 146 3701

The following table provides academic rankings for Rhodes University in various areas of Economics.

Economics subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Political Economy 8 8 344
Agricultural Economics 9 28 398
International Relations and Diplomacy 9 12 542
Development Studies 11 23 625
Finance 11 29 1194
International Trade 12 25 1232
Investment Banking and Stock trading 12 49 1390
Econometrics and Mathematical Economics 10 51 1839

Business rankings

Rhodes University ranked 11th for Business in South Africa and 1326th in the World with 2,118 publications made and 27,171 citations received. Main research topics: Finance, Management, Marketing, Advertising, Management Information Systems.

Business ranking Location
#11 of 24 In South Africa
#30 of 342 In Africa
#1326 of 6,187 In the World

Rhodes University
Business Publications & Citations

Year Business publications Business citations
1991 14 61
1992 10 23
1993 11 31
1994 18 38
1995 26 51
1996 13 52
1997 13 45
1998 14 44
1999 18 96
2000 21 88
2001 13 74
2002 26 115
2003 22 153
2004 26 177
2005 21 179
2006 45 237
2007 43 306
2008 58 298
2009 57 418
2010 64 571
2011 82 681
2012 87 772
2013 108 1018
2014 108 1096
2015 114 1199
2016 121 1354
2017 94 1393
2018 104 1519
2019 120 2041
2020 106 2541
2021 123 3120
2022 149 3391
2023 122 3387

The following table provides academic rankings for Rhodes University in various areas of Business.

Business subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Public Policy / Administration 11 20 595
Hospitality and Hotel Management 15 29 907
Tax Law 9 29 944
Human Resource Management 12 26 1071
Management Information Systems 13 22 1162
Advertising 12 18 1174
Finance 11 29 1194
International Trade 12 25 1232
International Business 12 32 1275
Marketing 13 36 1287
Accounting 12 40 1374
Investment Banking and Stock trading 12 49 1390
Project Management 15 41 1436
Management 15 66 2014

Art & Design rankings

Rhodes University ranked 11th for Art & Design in South Africa and 855th in the World with 1,770 publications made and 13,954 citations received. Main research topics: Literature, Fashion Design, Aesthetics, Art History, Creative Writing.

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
#11 of 24 In South Africa
#12 of 264 In Africa
#855 of 5,720 In the World

Rhodes University
Art & Design Publications & Citations

Year Art & Design publications Art & Design citations
1991 17 20
1992 20 23
1993 10 34
1994 6 44
1995 21 52
1996 17 46
1997 18 44
1998 10 49
1999 21 43
2000 14 70
2001 20 67
2002 25 93
2003 23 85
2004 27 114
2005 18 97
2006 35 159
2007 34 176
2008 44 205
2009 32 263
2010 56 278
2011 55 376
2012 79 387
2013 79 521
2014 71 534
2015 75 609
2016 85 635
2017 88 676
2018 87 786
2019 88 965
2020 86 1101
2021 110 1290
2022 96 1265
2023 91 1344

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

Art & Design subfield South Africa ranking Africa ranking World rank
Music 3 3 283
Creative Writing 11 11 434
Performing arts 9 9 680
Aesthetics 9 9 684
Literature 11 11 715
Art History 9 9 717
Singing and Vocal Performance 10 14 826
Fashion Design 10 15 928
Photography 12 18 978
Multimedia 9 16 1235
Computer Graphics 7 20 1394

Other rankings

Non-core subjects for Rhodes University

Speciality South Africa Africa World Rank
Math Teachers 11 13 793
Mathematics 11 47 1624
Statistics 11 50 1761