21 Best universities for Geotechnical 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 Geotechnical Engineering. A graph of 255K citations received by 12.4K 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

#397 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

2. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Geotechnical Engineering

#2 in Africa

#422 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

3. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Geotechnical Engineering

#4 in Africa

#456 in the World

Founded: 1918

4. University of Cape Town

South Africa | Cape Town

For Geotechnical Engineering

#5 in Africa

#489 in the World

Founded: 1874

5. University of Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Geotechnical Engineering

#13 in Africa

#636 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

6. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Geotechnical Engineering

#19 in Africa

#779 in the World

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

7. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Geotechnical Engineering

#29 in Africa

#945 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

8. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Geotechnical Engineering

#31 in Africa

#988 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

9. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Geotechnical Engineering

#34 in Africa

#1086 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

10. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Geotechnical Engineering

#42 in Africa

#1159 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

#1434 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

12. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Geotechnical Engineering

#81 in Africa

#1596 in the World

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

13. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Geotechnical Engineering

#84 in Africa

#1605 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

14. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Geotechnical Engineering

#85 in Africa

#1609 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

15. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Geotechnical Engineering

#92 in Africa

#1729 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

16. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Geotechnical Engineering

#118 in Africa

#2071 in the World

Founded: 1981

17. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Geotechnical Engineering

#119 in Africa

#2074 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

18. University of Zululand

South Africa | Kwadlangezwa

For Geotechnical Engineering

#127 in Africa

#2146 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1960

19. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Geotechnical Engineering

#144 in Africa

#2375 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

20. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Geotechnical Engineering

#158 in Africa

#2508 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

21. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Geotechnical Engineering

#210 in Africa

#3299 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.