22 Best universities for Civil Engineering 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 Civil Engineering. A graph of 312K citations received by 14K 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

#370 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

3. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Civil Engineering

#4 in Africa

#439 in the World

Founded: 1918

4. University of Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Civil Engineering

#5 in Africa

#441 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

5. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Civil Engineering

#6 in Africa

#529 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

6. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Civil Engineering

#10 in Africa

#624 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

7. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Civil Engineering

#15 in Africa

#848 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

8. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Civil Engineering

#26 in Africa

#1085 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

9. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Civil Engineering

#28 in Africa

#1105 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

10. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Civil Engineering

#31 in Africa

#1182 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

#1330 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

#1338 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

13. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Civil Engineering

#45 in Africa

#1405 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

14. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Civil Engineering

#76 in Africa

#1975 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

#1989 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

16. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Civil Engineering

#102 in Africa

#2317 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

17. University of Zululand

South Africa | Kwadlangezwa

For Civil Engineering

#105 in Africa

#2366 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1960

18. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Civil Engineering

#115 in Africa

#2506 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Founded: 1966

19. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Civil Engineering

#125 in Africa

#2636 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

20. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Civil Engineering

#143 in Africa

#2831 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

21. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Civil Engineering

#155 in Africa

#3001 in the World

Founded: 1981

22. Walter Sisulu University

South Africa | Mthatha

For Civil Engineering

#197 in Africa

#3650 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, Stellenbosch, and Pretoria.