21 Best universities for Geotechnical 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 Geotechnical Engineering. A graph of 276K citations received by 12.7K 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 KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Geotechnical Engineering

#1 in Africa

#399 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

2. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Geotechnical Engineering

#2 in Africa

#433 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

3. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Geotechnical Engineering

#4 in Africa

#455 in the World

Founded: 1918

4. University of Cape Town

South Africa | Cape Town

For Geotechnical Engineering

#5 in Africa

#497 in the World

Founded: 1874

5. University of Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Geotechnical Engineering

#13 in Africa

#644 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

6. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Geotechnical Engineering

#19 in Africa

#788 in the World

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

7. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Geotechnical Engineering

#29 in Africa

#928 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

8. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Geotechnical Engineering

#31 in Africa

#1003 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

9. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Geotechnical Engineering

#36 in Africa

#1103 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

10. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Geotechnical Engineering

#41 in Africa

#1144 in the World

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

11. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Geotechnical Engineering

#66 in Africa

#1426 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

12. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Geotechnical Engineering

#82 in Africa

#1569 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

13. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Geotechnical Engineering

#83 in Africa

#1577 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

14. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Geotechnical Engineering

#85 in Africa

#1608 in the World

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

15. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Geotechnical Engineering

#92 in Africa

#1719 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

16. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Geotechnical Engineering

#117 in Africa

#2040 in the World

Founded: 1981

17. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Geotechnical Engineering

#122 in Africa

#2083 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

18. University of Zululand

South Africa | Kwadlangezwa

For Geotechnical Engineering

#125 in Africa

#2140 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1960

19. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Geotechnical Engineering

#145 in Africa

#2372 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

20. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Geotechnical Engineering

#151 in Africa

#2443 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

21. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Geotechnical Engineering

#212 in Africa

#3311 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Founded: 1966

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