21 Best universities for Civil Engineering in South Africa

Updated: February 29, 2024

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 196K citations received by 12.1K 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 Civil Engineering

#1 in Africa

#260 in the World

Founded: 1874

2. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Civil Engineering

#2 in Africa

#353 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

3. University of Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Civil Engineering

#4 in Africa

#448 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

4. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Civil Engineering

#5 in Africa

#462 in the World

Founded: 1918

5. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Civil Engineering

#6 in Africa

#532 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

6. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Civil Engineering

#12 in Africa

#732 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

7. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Civil Engineering

#14 in Africa

#850 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Enrollment: 26,439
Male:Female: 42:58
Founded: 2004

8. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Civil Engineering

#23 in Africa

#1078 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

9. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Civil Engineering

#24 in Africa

#1088 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

10. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Civil Engineering

#27 in Africa

#1152 in the World

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

11. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Civil Engineering

#34 in Africa

#1307 in the World

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

12. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Civil Engineering

#41 in Africa

#1403 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Male:Female: 36:64
Founded: 1873

13. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Civil Engineering

#58 in Africa

#1767 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

14. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Civil Engineering

#69 in Africa

#1944 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Founded: 2005

15. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Civil Engineering

#74 in Africa

#2017 in the World

Founded: 1916

16. University of Zululand

South Africa | Kwadlangezwa

For Civil Engineering

#90 in Africa

#2269 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1960

17. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Civil Engineering

#96 in Africa

#2403 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Enrollment: 10,213
Founded: 2002

18. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Civil Engineering

#124 in Africa

#2748 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

19. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Civil Engineering

#134 in Africa

#2869 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

20. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Civil Engineering

#156 in Africa

#3119 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Founded: 1966

21. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Civil Engineering

#161 in Africa

#3165 in the World

Founded: 1981

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.