20 Best universities for Systems 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 Systems Engineering. A graph of 185K citations received by 9.1K 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

#413 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

2. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Systems Engineering

#2 in Africa

#480 in the World

Founded: 1918

3. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Systems Engineering

#3 in Africa

#509 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

4. University of Cape Town

South Africa | Cape Town

For Systems Engineering

#4 in Africa

#522 in the World

Founded: 1874

5. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Systems Engineering

#6 in Africa

#571 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

6. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Systems Engineering

#7 in Africa

#682 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

7. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Systems Engineering

#9 in Africa

#797 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

8. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Systems Engineering

#15 in Africa

#1004 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

9. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Systems Engineering

#16 in Africa

#1024 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

10. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Systems Engineering

#47 in Africa

#1669 in the World

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

11. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Systems Engineering

#49 in Africa

#1695 in the World

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

12. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Systems Engineering

#51 in Africa

#1706 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

13. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Systems Engineering

#52 in Africa

#1715 in the World

Founded: 1981

14. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Systems Engineering

#59 in Africa

#1868 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

15. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Systems Engineering

#60 in Africa

#1871 in the World

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

16. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Systems Engineering

#74 in Africa

#2124 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

17. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Systems Engineering

#105 in Africa

#2593 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

18. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Systems Engineering

#113 in Africa

#2773 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Founded: 1966

19. Mangosuthu University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Systems Engineering

#138 in Africa

#3257 in the World

Founded: 1979

20. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Systems Engineering

#148 in Africa

#3373 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, Johannesburg, and Cape Town.