22 Best Physical Therapy 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 Physical Therapy. A graph of 336K citations received by 15.7K academic papers made by 22 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 Cape Town

South Africa | Cape Town

For Physical Therapy

#1 in Africa

#169 in the World

Founded: 1874

2. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Physical Therapy

#3 in Africa

#411 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

3. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Physical Therapy

#4 in Africa

#415 in the World

Founded: 1918

4. University of Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Physical Therapy

#6 in Africa

#569 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

5. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Physical Therapy

#7 in Africa

#607 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

6. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Physical Therapy

#12 in Africa

#879 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

7. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Physical Therapy

#18 in Africa

#1187 in the World

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

8. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Physical Therapy

#27 in Africa

#1338 in the World

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

9. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Physical Therapy

#28 in Africa

#1356 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

10. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Physical Therapy

#41 in Africa

#1735 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

11. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Physical Therapy

#42 in Africa

#1743 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

12. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Physical Therapy

#44 in Africa

#1783 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

13. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Physical Therapy

#51 in Africa

#1988 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

14. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Physical Therapy

#55 in Africa

#2086 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

15. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Physical Therapy

#61 in Africa

#2285 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

16. University of Zululand

South Africa | Kwadlangezwa

For Physical Therapy

#63 in Africa

#2331 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1960

17. Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University

South Africa | Pretoria

For Physical Therapy

#64 in Africa

#2349 in the World

Enrollment: 5,000
Founded: 2014

18. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Physical Therapy

#65 in Africa

#2362 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

19. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Physical Therapy

#79 in Africa

#2782 in the World

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

20. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Physical Therapy

#86 in Africa

#2966 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Founded: 1966

21. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Physical Therapy

#104 in Africa

#3264 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

22. Walter Sisulu University

South Africa | Mthatha

For Physical Therapy

#128 in Africa

#3615 in the World

Founded: 2005

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