19 Best universities for Human Resource Management 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 Human Resource Management. A graph of 53.3K citations received by 3.6K academic papers made by 19 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 South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Human Resource Management

#1 in Africa

#130 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

2. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Human Resource Management

#2 in Africa

#202 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

3. University of Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Human Resource Management

#4 in Africa

#261 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

4. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Human Resource Management

#5 in Africa

#297 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

5. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Human Resource Management

#6 in Africa

#304 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

6. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Human Resource Management

#7 in Africa

#311 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

7. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Human Resource Management

#8 in Africa

#316 in the World

Founded: 1918

8. University of Cape Town

South Africa | Cape Town

For Human Resource Management

#9 in Africa

#352 in the World

Founded: 1874

9. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Human Resource Management

#14 in Africa

#741 in the World

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

10. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Human Resource Management

#17 in Africa

#815 in the World

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

11. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Human Resource Management

#18 in Africa

#816 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

12. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Human Resource Management

#30 in Africa

#1047 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

13. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Human Resource Management

#35 in Africa

#1140 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

14. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Human Resource Management

#36 in Africa

#1164 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

15. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Human Resource Management

#37 in Africa

#1182 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

16. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Human Resource Management

#41 in Africa

#1298 in the World

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

17. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Human Resource Management

#42 in Africa

#1299 in the World

Founded: 1981

18. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Human Resource Management

#46 in Africa

#1374 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

19. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Human Resource Management

#48 in Africa

#1397 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Founded: 1966

The best cities to study Human Resource Management in South Africa based on the number of universities and their ranks are Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, and Potchefstroom.

Business subfields in South Africa