20 Best universities for Systems 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 Systems Engineering. A graph of 165K citations received by 8.87K academic papers made by 20 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 Systems Engineering

#1 in Africa

#405 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

2. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Systems Engineering

#2 in Africa

#485 in the World

Founded: 1918

3. University of Cape Town

South Africa | Cape Town

For Systems Engineering

#3 in Africa

#518 in the World

Founded: 1874

4. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Systems Engineering

#4 in Africa

#528 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

5. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Systems Engineering

#6 in Africa

#580 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

6. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Systems Engineering

#7 in Africa

#688 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

7. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Systems Engineering

#9 in Africa

#818 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

8. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Systems Engineering

#15 in Africa

#1013 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

9. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Systems Engineering

#16 in Africa

#1051 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

10. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Systems Engineering

#43 in Africa

#1629 in the World

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

11. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Systems Engineering

#48 in Africa

#1700 in the World

Founded: 1981

12. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Systems Engineering

#50 in Africa

#1717 in the World

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

13. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Systems Engineering

#55 in Africa

#1811 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

14. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Systems Engineering

#57 in Africa

#1858 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

15. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Systems Engineering

#60 in Africa

#1886 in the World

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

16. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Systems Engineering

#67 in Africa

#2063 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

17. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Systems Engineering

#106 in Africa

#2651 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

18. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Systems Engineering

#109 in Africa

#2742 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Founded: 1966

19. Mangosuthu University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Systems Engineering

#135 in Africa

#3227 in the World

Founded: 1979

20. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Systems Engineering

#143 in Africa

#3330 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

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