University fees 2024: how much it costs to study in South Africa
There are over 20 public universities in South Africa, and tuition fees vary depending on their policy, the type and the length of studies.
According to Times Higher Education’s latest ranking, 12 of these local universities are also listed among the world’s top tertiary institutions for 2024.
The ranking looks into an institution’s global performance and judges research-intensive universities, with the full list comprising 1,904 universities across 108 countries and regions.
It is based on 18 calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across five areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook.
The ranking showed the University of Oxford coming in the top position for the eighth consecutive year, with Stanford University in second place, while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology jumped to third.
Locally, The University of Cape Town is the best university in South Africa, ranking 167th overall.
Stellenbosch University (2nd) and the University of the Witwatersrand (3rd) ranked in the same band of 301-350, while the University of Johannesburg (4th) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (5th) closed out the top five places in the country.
Studying at local universities is the most affordable option for South Africans looking for quality education. However, for those who have the means, the most popular countries to study in include the USA, the UK, Australia, and Germany, as reported by the education platform Erudera.
Overseas, the living costs alone cost, on average, upwards of R200,000 per annum, whereas students who choose local institutions typically pay almost half that, which includes tuition and residence.
Fees in 2024
According to data from Old Mutual, the average cost of sending a graduate to university in South Africa was R55,900 in 2023. This cost is expected to rise to R95,700 by 2030 and reach R177,200 by 2038.
BusinessTech looked at the cost of a year’s study at universities around the country.
The fees apply to first-year studies for 2024 and only act as an approximation; other costs, such as textbooks, travel, and residency, are excluded.
The fees sourced include the following undergraduate degrees:
- Bachelor of Commerce (BCom);
- Bachelor of Arts (BA);
- Bachelor of Science (BSc);
- Bachelor of Law (LLB, undergraduate);
- Bachelor of Science/Engineering (BEng).
Fees are typically charged per module needed to make up the credits of a given degree. Therefore, the fees below give a broader idea of the cost of a single year of study rather than a comprehensive overview.
A Bachelor of Science in Engineering is featured for institutions where no Bachelor of Engineering is offered.
University | BA | BCom | BSc | LLB | BEng |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of Cape Town | R71 400 | R66 140 to R98 140 | R78 500 | R72 570 | R80 750 to R84 060 |
University of the Witwatersrand* | R49 430 to R65 100 | R54 800 to R74 370 | R45 430 to R70 430 | R41 820 to R73 000 | R60 060 |
Stellenbosch University | R55 036 | R57 006 | R66 358 | R55 841 | R74 487 |
University of KwaZulu Natal | R49 628 | R53 089 | R45 728 to R61 408 | R50 404 | R59 583 |
University of Pretoria | R37 000 to R59 000 | R48 000 to R60 000 | R51 000 to R66 000 | R47 000 to R56 000 | R54 000 to R64 000 |
Rhodes University | R58 050 | R63 510 | R60 392 | R65 119 | N/A |
University of Johannesburg | R45 710 to R56 470 | R49 318 to R74 860 | R71 790 to R79 860 | R46 240 to R53 100 | R54 040 to R66 810 |
University of Free State | R55 470 | R55 830 | R49 555 to R74 620 | R45 390 | N/A |
Read: Top 4 most popular countries to study abroad for South Africans – and how much it costs