21 Best universities for Geotechnical 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 Geotechnical Engineering. A graph of 182K citations received by 10.9K 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

#395 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

2. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Geotechnical Engineering

#2 in Africa

#409 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

3. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Geotechnical Engineering

#4 in Africa

#475 in the World

Founded: 1918

4. University of Cape Town

South Africa | Cape Town

For Geotechnical Engineering

#5 in Africa

#486 in the World

Founded: 1874

5. University of Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Geotechnical Engineering

#10 in Africa

#660 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

6. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Geotechnical Engineering

#22 in Africa

#849 in the World

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

7. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Geotechnical Engineering

#25 in Africa

#958 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

8. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Geotechnical Engineering

#27 in Africa

#987 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

9. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Geotechnical Engineering

#35 in Africa

#1101 in the World

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

10. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Geotechnical Engineering

#40 in Africa

#1216 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

#1513 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

12. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Geotechnical Engineering

#73 in Africa

#1587 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Founded: 2005

13. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Geotechnical Engineering

#75 in Africa

#1624 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

14. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Geotechnical Engineering

#82 in Africa

#1732 in the World

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

15. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Geotechnical Engineering

#95 in Africa

#1861 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

16. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Geotechnical Engineering

#110 in Africa

#2033 in the World

Founded: 1981

17. University of Zululand

South Africa | Kwadlangezwa

For Geotechnical Engineering

#114 in Africa

#2083 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1960

18. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Geotechnical Engineering

#120 in Africa

#2179 in the World

Founded: 1916

19. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Geotechnical Engineering

#132 in Africa

#2359 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

20. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Geotechnical Engineering

#157 in Africa

#2666 in the World

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

21. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Geotechnical Engineering

#192 in Africa

#3221 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.