Categories: South Africa Universities

oldest university in south africa 2024-2025

Which South African universities are the oldest? By producing a list of South African universities that match the following selection criteria and are arranged by year of foundation, we attempt to address this subject.

offering at least four-year undergraduate degrees (bachelor degrees) or postgraduate degrees (master’s or doctoral degrees) and offering courses primarily in a traditional, face-to-face, non-distance education format. Being chartered, licensed, or accredited by the appropriate South African higher education-related organization.
Our goal is to identify the South African universities with the most tradition and history and to show how this connects to their university rankings.

Oldest Universities in South Africa

Rank	University	Town
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1	University of Cape Town	Cape Town
10	University of the Free State	Bloemfontein …
8	Rhodes University	Grahamstown
3	University of Pretoria	Pretoria
15	University of Fort Hare	Alice
4	Universiteit Stellenbosch	Stellenbosch …
2	University of the Witwatersrand	Johannesburg
18	University of Limpopo	Mankweng …
9	University of the Western Cape	Bellville
17	University of Zululand	Kwadlangezwa …
20	Vaal University of Technology	Vanderbijlpark …
23	Mangosuthu University of Technology	Durban …
16	Central University of Technology	Bloemfontein …
21	University of Venda	Thohoyandou
13	Durban University of Technology	Durban …
14	Tshwane University of Technology	Pretoria …
6	North-West University	Potchefstroom …
5	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Durban …
11	Cape Peninsula University of Technology	Cape Town …
12	Nelson Mandela University	Port Elizabeth …
7	University of Johannesburg	Johannesburg
19	Walter Sisulu University	Mthatha …
24	Sol Plaatje University	Kimberley
25	University of Mpumalanga	Nelspruit …
22	Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University	Pretoria