24 Best universities for Electrical 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 Electrical Engineering. A graph of 899K citations received by 42.1K academic papers made by 24 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 Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Electrical Engineering

#2 in Africa

#496 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

2. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Electrical Engineering

#4 in Africa

#563 in the World

Founded: 1918

3. University of Cape Town

South Africa | Cape Town

For Electrical Engineering

#5 in Africa

#571 in the World

Founded: 1874

4. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Electrical Engineering

#7 in Africa

#629 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

5. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Electrical Engineering

#9 in Africa

#657 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

6. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Electrical Engineering

#10 in Africa

#684 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

7. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Electrical Engineering

#29 in Africa

#1213 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

8. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Electrical Engineering

#34 in Africa

#1269 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

9. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Electrical Engineering

#37 in Africa

#1350 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

10. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Electrical Engineering

#58 in Africa

#1707 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

11. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Electrical Engineering

#64 in Africa

#1768 in the World

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

12. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Electrical Engineering

#71 in Africa

#1833 in the World

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

13. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Electrical Engineering

#81 in Africa

#2103 in the World

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

14. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Electrical Engineering

#88 in Africa

#2283 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

15. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Electrical Engineering

#89 in Africa

#2289 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

16. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Electrical Engineering

#90 in Africa

#2292 in the World

Founded: 1981

17. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Electrical Engineering

#110 in Africa

#2556 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

18. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Electrical Engineering

#133 in Africa

#3011 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

19. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Electrical Engineering

#135 in Africa

#3016 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Founded: 1966

20. University of Zululand

South Africa | Kwadlangezwa

For Electrical Engineering

#154 in Africa

#3416 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1960

21. Mangosuthu University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Electrical Engineering

#175 in Africa

#3683 in the World

Founded: 1979

22. Walter Sisulu University

South Africa | Mthatha

For Electrical Engineering

#182 in Africa

#3800 in the World

Founded: 2005

23. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Electrical Engineering

#200 in Africa

#3975 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

24. Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University

South Africa | Pretoria

For Electrical Engineering

#204 in Africa

#4012 in the World

Enrollment: 5,000
Founded: 2014

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