| Subject | QS | THE | ARWU | U.S. News |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine / Clinical | #201-250 | — | #201-300 | #20 |
| Mining & Mineral Engineering | #25 | — | — | — |
| Development Studies | #25 | — | — | — |
| Anthropology | #51-100 | — | — | — |
| Public Health | — | — | #51-75 | #95 |
| Archaeology | #101-150 | — | — | — |
| Environmental Science | #401-450 | — | #101-150 | #239 |
| Physics & Astronomy | #451-500 | — | #101-150 | #257 |
| Nursing | — | — | #101-150 | — |
| Biological Sciences | #351-400 | — | #201-300 | #113 |
| English Language & Literature | #151-200 | — | — | — |
| Social Sciences & Management | #401-450 | #151-175 | — | — |
| Geography | — | — | #151-200 | — |
| Clinical & Health | — | #151-175 | — | — |
| Arts & Humanities | #365 | #176-200 | — | #180 |
| Earth & Geosciences | #201-275 | — | #301-400 | #238 |
| Communication & Media | #201-250 | — | — | — |
| Sociology | #201-250 | — | #201-300 | — |
| Education | #301-350 | #201-250 | #401-500 | — |
| Law | #301-350 | #201-250 | — | — |
| Economics & Econometrics | #351-400 | — | #201-300 | — |
| Political Science & IR | #251-300 | — | — | — |
| Life Sciences & Medicine | #252 | #301-400 | — | — |
| Accounting & Finance | #301-375 | — | — | — |
| Psychology | — | #301-400 | #301-400 | #453 |
| Business & Economics | — | #301-400 | — | — |
| Pharmacy & Pharmacology | #351-400 | — | — | #434 |
| Materials Science | #351-400 | — | — | — |
| Agriculture & Forestry | — | — | — | #395 |
| Natural / Physical Sciences | #398 | #401-500 | — | — |
| Chemical Engineering | #401-450 | — | — | — |
| Mathematics | #401-450 | — | — | #497 |
| Engineering & Technology | #451-500 | #401-500 | — | — |
| Chemistry | #451-500 | — | — | — |
| Business & Management | #551-600 | — | — | — |
| Computer Science | — | #601-800 | — | — |
University of the Witwatersrand ranks #291 in QS 2026, #325 in THE 2026, #201-300 in ARWU 2025 and #265 in U.S. News 2026. Its consensus position across the major rankings is #257 globally.
QS weights employer reputation and international metrics more heavily; THE places more weight on research influence and teaching environment. Differences of this size between the two systems are common — see our methodology comparison.