With six new subjects introduced this year, 15 South African higher education institutions are in the top 100 of at least one of the 36 subjects covered in British education body Quacquarelli Symonds’ (QS’s) World University Rankings by Subject for 2015.

South African institutions received their highest rankings within the new subject of Development Studies, in which University of Cape Town (UCT) ranked seventh worldwide, while the University of The Witwatersrand (Wits) tied for fifteenth place.

Stellenbosch University (SU), the University of Johannesburg, the University of Kwazulu-Natal and the University of Pretoria were also in the global top 100 rankings for Development Studies.

Meanwhile, UCT was also in the global top 50 universities for Geography, tying for thirty-ninth place, while ranking in the top 100 for six subjects in total. Other stand-out performers in the top 100 worldwide is SU for Agriculture & Forestry, and Wits in Geography.

“These rankings provide a unique opportunity for South African institutions to be recognised for their specialised prowess in certain disciplines, something not seen in overall institutional rankings,” QS research head Ben Sowter said in a statement.

The rankings also featured a strong performance from Asian institutions, particularly in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, with eight universities listed in the top 20 for at least one STEM subject, showing regional strength in those areas of education.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) dominated the regional representation within the rankings, placing first regionally in 21 out of the 36 subjects. Nine Asian universities ranked within the top ten in 16 subjects.

The US and the UK continued to dominate the top of the rankings with traditionally strong institutions, achieving first place in 27 and seven subjects respectively.

However, Switzerland’s ETH Zurich Swiss Federal Institute of Technology was ranked first globally for Earth & Marine Sciences, and fifth in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, achieving the status of highest-ranking European Union-based institution in these subjects.