21 Best Forestry schools 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 Forestry. A graph of 415K citations received by 16.2K 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 Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Forestry

#1 in Africa

#54 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

2. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Forestry

#2 in Africa

#86 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

3. University of Cape Town

South Africa | Cape Town

For Forestry

#3 in Africa

#108 in the World

Founded: 1874

4. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Forestry

#4 in Africa

#112 in the World

Founded: 1918

5. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Forestry

#10 in Africa

#232 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

6. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Forestry

#12 in Africa

#282 in the World

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

7. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Forestry

#23 in Africa

#399 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

8. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Forestry

#27 in Africa

#448 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

9. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Forestry

#32 in Africa

#486 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

10. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Forestry

#40 in Africa

#614 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

11. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Forestry

#49 in Africa

#758 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

12. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Forestry

#55 in Africa

#815 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

13. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Forestry

#60 in Africa

#878 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

14. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Forestry

#73 in Africa

#1041 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

15. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Forestry

#84 in Africa

#1104 in the World

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

16. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Forestry

#87 in Africa

#1140 in the World

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

17. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Forestry

#89 in Africa

#1155 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

18. University of Zululand

South Africa | Kwadlangezwa

For Forestry

#115 in Africa

#1420 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1960

19. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Forestry

#185 in Africa

#2305 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

20. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Forestry

#190 in Africa

#2385 in the World

Founded: 1981

21. Walter Sisulu University

South Africa | Mthatha

For Forestry

#208 in Africa

#2518 in the World

Founded: 2005

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