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22 January 2025 | Story Charlene Stanley | Photo Supplied
University of the Free State - Main Gate
The THE rankings are known to guide potential students to identify the best institutions for their chosen field of study, allowing them to compare different universities based on the strength of their academic offerings in specific study fields.

The recently published Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings by Subject 2025 shows that the University of the Free State (UFS) is ranked among the top 1 000 global higher learning institutions in its nine evaluated subjects, with most subject areas showing improved results from those recorded in 2024. 

The annually published THE World University Rankings by Subject is a highly regarded, trusted global benchmark for academic excellence in specific disciplines. Its methodology is designed to evaluate universities by employing a range of performance indicators categorised under five core pillars, namely Teaching, Research Environment, Research Quality, Industry, and International Outlook. 

Under Teaching, factors such as reputation, student-to-staff ratio, doctorate-to-bachelor ratio, and institutional income are considered. The Research pillar focuses on aspects such as productivity, citation impact, and influence. Among the other considerations are the income generated from industry partnerships and patents, as well as the number of international students, staff, and co-authored publications.

The methodology is carefully adjusted for each subject, ensuring fairness and accuracy by considering field-specific research cultures and publication practices.

The complete list of UFS subject rankings is as follows:

Law: 301+  *
Arts and Humanities: 501-600 # 
Education Studies: 501-600  #
Psychology: 501-600  #
Life Sciences: 601-800  #
Social Sciences: 601-800 #
Medical and Health: 801-1 000  #

Physical Sciences: 801-1 000 #

*The “+” label indicates that there is no upper limit and is used in instances where the THE does not provide exact ranks for universities beyond this position, therefore grouping institutions together to avoid overly fine distinctions at lower ranking tiers. (Eg. 801+ indicates 801st or lower.)

# The range label (eg. 801-1000), indicates that a university is ranked somewhere within this narrower range, (eg. between 801st  and 1000th. )

For more detail, visit: www.timeshighereducation.com

The THE rankings are known to guide potential students to identify the best institutions for their chosen field of study, allowing them to compare different universities based on the strength of their academic offerings in specific study fields. It also often paves the way for research collaboration, as companies are more likely to partner with highly ranked institutions in a specific sector for research and development projects. Furthermore, strong subject rankings enhance the international reputation of universities and enable comprehensive comparison in particular disciplines.

“This type of global benchmarking is extremely valuable in enhancing the international reputation of the UFS, enabling us to ultimately recruit and attract the most talented students and staff from our region and from across the globe. This aligns with our institutional strategy contained in Vision 130, whereby we aim to grow and extend our impact and influence locally, regionally, and globally,” says Prof Anthea Rhoda, acting UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal. “Valuable knowledge and insights are also garnered during each evaluation process, allowing us to remain a globally competitive force in higher education, and to take the UFS to even greater heights in the years to come.”

Click to view document Click to view UFS Times Higher Subject Scores

News Archive

Law students rated among the top in the world
2007-04-18

The UFS team that competed in the moot arbitration competition in Austria was, front from the left: Sunette Visser and Dee Leboela; back from left: Lucian Companie, Vicky Olivier and Deman Smit.
UFS Law students rated among the top in the world
A team of eight students from the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) has put the university among the top universities in the world when it was ranked 46th out of 177 universities that recently took part in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot competition in Vienna, Austria.

Universities from more than 55 countries took part in the competition and 1 800 arguments were delivered over a period of seven days. The UFS team competed against countries such as Switzerland, Russia, Lapland and France.

The team did exceptionally well in all the arguments and was complimented on oral performance and litigation skills. “In the final round, one of the arbitrators, who is a practising international trade lawyer and arbitrator, said that the team’s oral arguments were of exactly the same standard as that of practising international trade lawyers in real arbitrations,” said Prof. Elizabeth Snyman-Van Deventer, coach of the team and lecturer at the Department of Mercantile Law.

To put the cherry on top, one of the team members, Deman Smit, received an individual oralist award and an honourable mention as one of the best speakers. His score of 138 out of 150 placed him within three (3) points of the international individual winner.

The Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Johan Henning said: “The fact that Deman missed out on receiving the top speaker award by a couple of points is a striking example of the world class students this faculty is delivering. It also shows that the faculty needs not to stand back for law faculties such as those of Harvard, Freiburg, Munchen, Stanford and Sorbonne.”

The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is an annual competition organised by the Institute of International Commercial Law at the Pace University School of Law in New York, United States of America. The goal of the competition is to foster the study of international commercial law and to train students in methods of alternative dispute resolution.

“The Faculty of Law also sees this competition as part of our development strategy to develop skilled arbitrators for commercial disputes. There is a need in Africa for commercial lawyers to facilitate international trade. This programme is also in line with the development strategies of the African Union,” said Prof. Snyman-Van Deventer.

The UFS team comprised of: Dee Leboela, Smit, Lucien Companie, Vicky Olivier, Sunette Visser, Qaqamba Vellem, Hanno Bekker and Lucy Nthotso.

Media release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za 
18 April 2007
 

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