21 Best universities for Bioinformatics and Computational biology in South Africa

Updated: March 15, 2026

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in South Africa ranked based on their research performance in Bioinformatics and Computational biology. A graph of 634K citations received by 17.6K academic papers made by 21 universities in South Africa was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of Cape Town

South Africa | Cape Town

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#1 in Africa

#326 in the World

Founded: 1874

2. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#3 in Africa

#423 in the World

Founded: 1918

3. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#4 in Africa

#482 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

4. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#5 in Africa

#494 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

5. University of Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#6 in Africa

#599 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

6. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#9 in Africa

#680 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

7. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#11 in Africa

#753 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Enrollment: 24,754
Founded: 1959

8. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#15 in Africa

#1034 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

9. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#16 in Africa

#1066 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

10. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#26 in Africa

#1259 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 25%
Enrollment: 37,000
Founded: 1904

11. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#38 in Africa

#1596 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

12. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#40 in Africa

#1635 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

13. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#45 in Africa

#1676 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

14. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#50 in Africa

#1829 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

15. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#54 in Africa

#1934 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

16. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#72 in Africa

#2273 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Enrollment: 35,047
Founded: 2005

17. University of Zululand

South Africa | Kwadlangezwa

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#82 in Africa

#2360 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1960

18. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#89 in Africa

#2492 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

19. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#100 in Africa

#2667 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

20. Walter Sisulu University

South Africa | Mthatha

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#119 in Africa

#2877 in the World

Founded: 2005

21. Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University

South Africa | Pretoria

For Bioinformatics and Computational biology

#148 in Africa

#3271 in the World

Enrollment: 5,000
Founded: 2014

The best cities to study Bioinformatics and Computational biology in South Africa based on the number of universities and their ranks are Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Johannesburg, and Durban.

Biology subfields in South Africa