If early performances are anything to go by, 2026 could shape up to be a very strong year for Stellenbosch University (SU) in global higher education rankings. 

Shortly after featuring in the 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject, SU also made it onto TIME magazine and Statista R’s inaugural “World’s Top Universities of 2026” ranking released on 28 January. 

Only the 500 universities with the highest final scores were included. Statista R is the leading global provider of market and consumer data and rankings. 

In the 2026 version, SU is ranked at number 275. It occupies the third position in South Africa behind the Universities of Cape Town and the Witwatersrand.

According to TIME magazine and Statista R, universities were shortlisted if they met at least one of the following conditions: 

• At least one of the highly cited researchers, according to Clarivate, is among their faculty;
• They are among the most renowned and frequently mentioned institutions; or
• They applied through the open call to action published on TIME.com.

Three key pillars were used to rank institutions: 

• Academic capacity and performance (the resources universities devote to teaching and research, and the results they achieve in terms of scholarly output and academic excellence);
• Innovation and economic impact (universities’ contributions to the advancement of science and technology, the diffusion of knowledge, and their influence on economic decision-making through the careers of their graduates); and
• Global engagement (the extent to which universities attract international students and staff and the degree of international attention they receive).

SU recorded its highest score in innovation and economic impact and its lowest in global engagement.

Commenting on yet another milestone for SU, Prof Sibusiso Moyo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Internationalisation, said that as part of its 2026–2030 strategic plan, SU aspires to be Africa’s leading research-intensive university, globally recognised as excellent, inclusive and innovative, where we advance knowledge in service of society. 

“Making it to the 275th position shows that we are well on our way to pivot to the Top 100 global universities, a stretched goal which SU is working towards. Of course, this will require a huge investment in terms of research and development and grantsmanship to steward our research, innovation and internationalisation goals combined with academic excellence.”