Through our postgraduate research, the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences strives to be the leading science faculty on the African continent. We endeavour to achieve this by contributing significantly to some of the major challenges the continent faces in relation to poverty and food, energy and water security, climate change and its impact on agriculture, animal and human health, as well as economic sustainability.

The Faculty is one of the most diverse science faculties in South Africa and has embarked on a process to significantly improve its academic standing both nationally and internationally. In terms of the ISI Web of Knowledge field rankings that measure performance based on the volume and impact of research outputs, the Faculty is performing well in a number of research fields, including Plant and Animal Sciences, Environment and Ecology, and Agriculture.

Click here to read more about the different focus areas of research in the Faculty.

The University has made the strategic decision to concentrate resources in a selected number of Institutional Research Themes (IRTs). The Faculty is intensely involved in four of the IRTs and their related disciplines, which have already been established. These four IRTs are Energy, Food, Nutrition and Well-being, Genomics and Animal and Zoonotic Diseases.

The strong research ethos of the Faculty is re-emphasised by the fact that more than 100 of our scientists are formally recognised by the National Research Foundation’s (NRF) peer evaluation system for the high quality and impact of their research, nationally and internationally. Many of our academics and researchers are internationally recognised as leaders in their respective fields. The Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences can boast with six NRF A-rated researchers: Prof Nigel Bennett, Prof Don Cowan, Prof Pedro Crous,  Prof Yves Van de Peer, Prof Brenda Wingfield and Prof Mike Wingfield.