24 Best universities for Social Psychology 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 Social Psychology. A graph of 888K citations received by 49.6K academic papers made by 24 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 Social Psychology

#1 in Africa

#343 in the World

Founded: 1874

2. University of South Africa

South Africa | Pretoria

For Social Psychology

#2 in Africa

#400 in the World

Enrollment: 420,000
Founded: 1873

3. University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Social Psychology

#3 in Africa

#403 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 34%
Founded: 1922

4. University of Pretoria

South Africa | Pretoria

For Social Psychology

#4 in Africa

#416 in the World

Enrollment: 48,174
Founded: 1908

5. North-West University

South Africa | Potchefstroom

For Social Psychology

#5 in Africa

#417 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 2004

6. University of Stellenbosch

South Africa | Stellenbosch

For Social Psychology

#6 in Africa

#441 in the World

Founded: 1918

7. University of Johannesburg

South Africa | Johannesburg

For Social Psychology

#7 in Africa

#460 in the World

Enrollment: 49,910
Founded: 2005

8. University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa | Durban

For Social Psychology

#8 in Africa

#517 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 2004

9. University of the Free State

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Social Psychology

#10 in Africa

#795 in the World

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

10. University of the Western Cape

South Africa | Bellville

For Social Psychology

#17 in Africa

#1011 in the World

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

11. Rhodes University

South Africa | Makhanda

For Social Psychology

#20 in Africa

#1231 in the World

Enrollment: 8,200
Founded: 1904

12. Nelson Mandela University

South Africa | Port Elizabeth

For Social Psychology

#26 in Africa

#1385 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Founded: 2005

13. University of Limpopo

South Africa | Mankweng

For Social Psychology

#38 in Africa

#1770 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1959

14. Tshwane University of Technology

South Africa | Pretoria

For Social Psychology

#44 in Africa

#1869 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Founded: 2003

15. University of Fort Hare

South Africa | Alice

For Social Psychology

#45 in Africa

#1901 in the World

Enrollment: 11,074
Founded: 1916

16. Vaal University of Technology

South Africa | Vanderbijlpark

For Social Psychology

#52 in Africa

#2033 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Founded: 1966

17. Durban University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Social Psychology

#59 in Africa

#2185 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Founded: 2002

18. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

South Africa | Cape Town

For Social Psychology

#60 in Africa

#2186 in the World

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

19. University of Zululand

South Africa | Kwadlangezwa

For Social Psychology

#65 in Africa

#2312 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1960

20. Central University of Technology

South Africa | Bloemfontein

For Social Psychology

#74 in Africa

#2438 in the World

Founded: 1981

21. University of Venda

South Africa | Thohoyandou

For Social Psychology

#75 in Africa

#2448 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1982

22. Walter Sisulu University

South Africa | Mthatha

For Social Psychology

#83 in Africa

#2613 in the World

Founded: 2005

23. Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University

South Africa | Pretoria

For Social Psychology

#124 in Africa

#3472 in the World

Enrollment: 5,000
Founded: 2014

24. Mangosuthu University of Technology

South Africa | Durban

For Social Psychology

#259 in Africa

#5286 in the World

Founded: 1979

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

Psychology subfields in South Africa

Child Psychology23

Clinical Psychology22

Cognitive Science19

Education Majors24

Negotiation and Conflict Resolution12

Neuroscience24

Occupational Therapy8

Organizational / Business / IO Psychology14