Nigeria’s Covenant University is the best University in Nigeria and the fifth best university in Africa according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020.
Covenant University is ranked at 401–500 globally and fifth in Africa in the list, while the University of Cape Town (South Africa) is the best-rated institution in Africa (136th globally).
In total, Twenty Egyptian universities made the list, 10 South African institutions also made the cut while Algeria has 8 universities, Tunisia 6, Nigeria 4 and Morocco 3.
Best University in Nigeria, 2020
Below are the best Universities in Nigeria according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020.
1. Covenant University
Covenant University is a private Pentecostal Christian university located in Ota, Nigeria.
The university has had a rapid rise in reputation in the decade and a half that it has been operating.
It has four colleges, mostly dedicated to vocational studies: the College of Business and Social Sciences; the College of Leadership and Development Studies; the College of Engineering; and the College of Science and Technology.
Covenant is affiliated with the Living Faith Church Worldwide and is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Association of African Universities and the National Universities Commission.
Covenant University is ranked at 401–500 globally and fifth best university in Africa in the list.
2. University of Ibadan
The University of Ibadan began with just three departments – science, medicine and the arts – but has since expanded to take in 13 faculties, including social sciences, agriculture and forestry, education, technology, law and dentistry.
The founding mission of the university was to make education available to all. It has a well-established Distance Learning Centre where students who have financial or familial barriers are able to study.
Ibadan also has its own zoological and botanical gardens filled with many endangered animals and plants, and a number of conservation programmes are supported.
University of Ibadan is ranked at 501–600 globally and eight in Africa in the list.
3. University of Lagos
The University of Lagos was founded in 1962 and has three campuses in Lagos, the nation’s commercial capital. These are: the Main Campus at Akoka (which is largely surrounded by the scenic view of the Lagos lagoon), the School of Radiography at Yaba, and its College of Medicine, at Idi-Araba, Surulere.
The University offers over 86 undergraduate and 140 postgraduate programmes spread across 12 faculties and five institutes.
There are also 10 research centres, some of which are Centres of Excellence and over a hundred research groups. Some of the research being undertaken at the university include drug research and herbal medicine, economic policy analysis and autism and neuro development disorders among others.
University of Lagos is ranked at 801–1000 globally and fifth in Africa in the list.
4. University of Nigeria
The university has 102 academic departments across 15 faculties, and it offers 82 undergraduate programmes and 211 postgraduate programmes.
The University of Nigeria Nsukka has four campuses. The main one is in Nsukka; the others are in Enugu, Ituku-Ozalla and Aba.
Research activity is undertaken across the institution in the areas of African studies, education, developmental studies and herbal medicine and drugs research and development. There are also centres established to explore climate change, space science and energy research.
University of Nigeria is ranked at 1000+ globally and fifth in Africa in the list.
The list of the best universities in the world is dominated by the US and UK who have 10 institutions in the world.
No institution from any other country – apart from US and UK – made it into the top 10 global rankings.
The report authored by London based education magazine Times Higher Education uses Learning Environment (30%), Research (30%), Citations (30%), International Outlook (7.5%) and Industry Income (2.5%) as its key criteria for the rankings.
Top 10 universities in Africa:
1. The University of Cape Town – South Africa
2. University of Witwatersrand – South Africa
3. Stellenbosch University – South Africa
4. Aswan University – Egypt
5. Covenant University – Nigeria
6. University of KwaZulu-Natal – South Africa
7. Mansoura University – Egypt
8. University of Ibadan – Nigeria
9. North-West University – South Africa
10. Suez Canal University – Egypt
Top 10 universities in the world:
1. The University of Oxford – United Kingdom
2. California Institute of Technology – United States
3. The University of Cambridge – United Kingdom
4. Stanford University – United States
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – United States
6. Princeton University – United States
7. Harvard University – United States
8. Yale University – United States
9. University of Chicago – United States
10. Imperial College of London – United Kingdom
Methodology
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020 includes almost 1,400 universities across 92 countries, standing as the largest and most diverse university rankings ever to date.
The table is based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
