South Africa’s best universities to study technology and engineering

South Africa has a severe skills shortage in technical fields, which bodes ill for government’s plans to take the fourth industrial revolution head-on.
This is felt particularly sharply in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, where skills are needed to meet the growing demands of businesses and industry to keep apace with technology.
Recent data published by the Department of Basic Education uncovered a worrying trend among South Africa’s learners: mathematics and science – the two crucial disciplines required for a foundation in STEM fields – have seen a rapid decline in the number of students writing and passing these subjects in matric.
According to the department, the number of students taking maths in Grade 12 declined from 263,903 in 2015 to 222,043 in 2019, while physical science declined from 193,189 to 164,478 in the same time-frame.
This comes as government is pushing new tech-focused subjects, such as robotics and coding, into schools, to better-prepare students for the world of technology.
These skills are imperative for future careers. With the alarming levels of unemployment in South Africa, it’s essential to identify where there are skills shortages and to encourage learners to study in those fields that present employment opportunities. An industry such as robotics is calling out for more engineers.
The lack of these skills is not for a lack of places to attain them, with South Africa’s universities ranked among best in the world for various subjects in these fields.
Several global university rankings released throughout the year include more granular data, assessing top university performance in various fields of study. We have focused on technology, computer science and engineering.
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
Eight and 10 universities are listed in the THE ranking for computer science and engineering, respectively.
The THE is a global performance ranking that judges research-intensive universities across 13 performance indicators, and is independently audited. It places particular emphasis on research and citations.
The engineering category covers general engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, civil engineering and chemical engineering.
Computer Science
Global rank | University |
---|---|
501-600 | University of Cape Town |
501-600 | University of Pretoria |
501-600 | Stellenbosch University |
601-800 | University of Johannesburg |
601-800 | University of KwaZulu Natal |
601-800 | University of South Africa (Unisa) |
601-800 | University of the Witwatersrand |
801+ | Tshwane University of Technology |
Engineering
Global rank | University |
---|---|
301-400 | University of South Africa (Unisa) |
301-400 | Tshwane University of Technology |
401-500 | North-West University |
501-600 | University of Cape Town |
501-600 | University of Johannesburg |
601-800 | Durban University of Technology |
601-800 | University of KwaZulu Natal |
601-800 | University of Pretoria |
601-800 | Stellenbosch University |
601-800 | University of the Witwatersrand |
Academic Ranking of World Universities
Five South African universities were ranked in the science and engineering field in the the ARWU, with local institutes ranking among the top 500 in the world in five categories.
The ARWU assesses more than 1,800 universities on six key measures, with particular focus on research and citations in natural sciences.
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Global rank | University |
---|---|
401-500 | University of KwaZulu Natal |
401-500 | University of Pretoria |
Computer Science and Engineering
Global rank | University |
---|---|
401-500 | University of Cape Town |
Energy Science and Engineering
Global rank | University |
---|---|
301-400 | University of KwaZulu Natal |
301-400 | University of Pretoria |
Environmental Science and Engineering
Global rank | University |
---|---|
301-400 | University of Cape Town |
401-500 | Stellenbosch University |
Mining and Mineral Engineering
Global rank | University |
---|---|
51-75 | University of Cape Town |
76-100 | Stellenbosch University |
76 -100 | University of the Witwatersrand |
University Ranking by Academic Performance
In the 2020 field of study ranking, seven South African universities placed among the top 1000 for technology, with six in the ranking for engineering.
URAP is an academic performance based ranking, so publications constitute the basis of the ranking methodology. Both quality and quantity of publications and international research collaboration performance are used as indicators.
Engineering
Global rank | University |
---|---|
425 | University of Pretoria |
501 | University of KZN |
548 | Stellenbosch University |
653 | University of Johannesburg |
693 | University of the Witwatersrand |
703 | University of Cape Town |
Technology
Global rank | University |
---|---|
531 | University of Cape Town |
549 | University of Pretoria |
614 | University of Witwatersrand |
652 | Stellenbosch University |
699 | University of KZN |
816 | University of Johannesburg |
977 | University of the Free State |
QS World University Rankings
In the 2020 ranking for field of study, four South African universities were ranked in the list for engineering and technology.
The QS rankings identifies which subjects universities are particularly strong in relation to international competitors, looking specifically at academic reputation and research output.
Research citations, along with the results of major global surveys of employers and academics are also used to rank the universities.
Global rank | University |
---|---|
307 | University of Cape Town |
364 | University of Pretoria |
401-450 | Stellenbosch University |
451-500 | University of the Witwatersrand |
Read: These 6 South African universities are ranked among the top 500 in the world