22 Best universities for Civil Engineering in South Africa

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in South Africa ranked based on their research performance in Civil Engineering. A graph of 282K citations received by 13.7K academic papers made by 22 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 Civil Engineering

#1 in Africa

#276 in the World

Founded: 1874

2. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Civil Engineering

#2 in Africa

#372 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

3. University of Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Civil Engineering

#4 in Africa

#442 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

4. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Civil Engineering

#5 in Africa

#447 in the World

Founded: 1918

5. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Civil Engineering

#6 in Africa

#524 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

6. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Civil Engineering

#11 in Africa

#640 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

7. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Civil Engineering

#15 in Africa

#841 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

8. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Civil Engineering

#23 in Africa

#1068 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

9. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Civil Engineering

#26 in Africa

#1100 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

10. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Civil Engineering

#31 in Africa

#1174 in the World

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

11. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Civil Engineering

#39 in Africa

#1324 in the World

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

12. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Civil Engineering

#42 in Africa

#1351 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

13. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Civil Engineering

#46 in Africa

#1422 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

14. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Civil Engineering

#77 in Africa

#1957 in the World

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

15. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Civil Engineering

#79 in Africa

#2004 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

16. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Civil Engineering

#103 in Africa

#2350 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

17. University of Zululand

South Africa | Kwadlangezwa

For Civil Engineering

#105 in Africa

#2356 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1960

18. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Civil Engineering

#115 in Africa

#2509 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Founded: 1966

19. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Civil Engineering

#131 in Africa

#2689 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

20. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Civil Engineering

#147 in Africa

#2864 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

21. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Civil Engineering

#157 in Africa

#3051 in the World

Founded: 1981

22. Walter Sisulu University

South Africa | Mthatha

For Civil Engineering

#200 in Africa

#3660 in the World

Founded: 2005

The best cities to study Civil Engineering in South Africa based on the number of universities and their ranks are Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Stellenbosch.