The University of Pretoria (UP) was established in 1908 with just four professors and 32 students, in a little house called Kya Rosa. Today, it is one of the largest research universities in South Africa. UP has transformed into a dynamic university community of staff and students who come from a range of diverse backgrounds and cultures showcasing South African and global societies.
The degrees are locally accredited and internationally recognised. We have agreements in place with the relevant legal accreditation bodies around the world, which means that, with UP behind your name, your qualification will always be recognised.
The educational approach has a strong focus on inclusivity and equitable access to education, but ultimately on equity of outcomes. We effectively use contact sessions in traditional lectures, seminars, laboratories and practical sites, together with the experience gained by more than 20 years of using online learning platforms. This has enabled access and success for an increasing number of students.
We present here UP’s research achievements, including the increase in research publications, a trend that has continued over the past five years, and since the start of the implementation of the University’s long-term strategic plan, UP 2025. Notable also with respect to strengthening our research identity, there has been a year-on-year increase in doctoral enrolments and graduates, and in the overall number of graduates with postgraduate qualifications. By December 2018, 66% of our academic staff held doctoral degrees, which underscores the research and postgraduate training capacity at UP.
UP has seven beautiful campuses, each with its own unique character and purpose. The faculties of Veterinary Science, Health Science, and Education are customised to their purposes, self-contained on campuses at Onderstepoort, Prinshof and Groenkloof respectively. Our Hillcrest campus is home to all our sporting codes, professional and recreational sport teams, and sports science research facilities. Our business school, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, is in Illovo, Johannesburg. All other faculties are located centrally at the Hatfield Campus. For students who have lectures across multiple campuses, a regular bus service connects all the campuses to and from Hatfield and official residences.
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
By TopUniversities
Climbed 36 places compared to 2026
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 354 | 362 | 326 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By U.S. News & World Report
Climbed 43 places compared to 2026
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 439 | 460 | 417 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Times Higher Education
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2027 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 601 | 501 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2026 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 501 | 501 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Are you looking for that special place you can call your home away from home? Then a residence at the University of Pretoria is just the place for you. Whilst living in a residence, you will be able to take part in a variety of different events, join every committee you can think of, take part in a variety of sports, do community outreach projects and make a lot of new friends. All of this will be available in our residences, where academic progress is on the forefront.
The Department of Library Services (DLS) focuses on supporting the learning needs of scholars and academics in the Learning Centre and provides customised research support through its faculty libraries and two research commons, Merensky 2 Library Research Commons and Groenkloof Research Commons, to facilitate information and knowledge management in the context of the University's core business.
Each campus of the University presented unique challenges for the implementation of the WiFi access points and technology. The project team had to assess each installation based on the best WiFi coverage maps and physical placement of the WiFi infrastructure. The Google campus maps are continously updated with new WiFi access points - please see the short URLs below for each campus.
Student life can sometimes be a bit stressful when you have to juggle a high-volume workload and a host of other responsibilities. UP Student Counselling will assist you by providing guidance and counselling when you need it. We have Student Health Services facilities on all campuses if you are not feeling well and our Disability Unit helps to accommodate students with disabilities.
UP has seven beautiful campuses, each with its own unique character and purpose. The faculties of Veterinary Science, Health Science, and Education are customised to their purposes, self-contained on campuses at Onderstepoort, Prinshof and Groenkloof respectively. Our Hillcrest campus is home to all our sporting codes, professional and recreational sport teams, and sports science research facilities. Our business school, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, is in Illovo, Johannesburg. All other faculties are located centrally at the Hatfield Campus. For students who have lectures across multiple campuses, a regular bus service connects all the campuses to and from Hatfield and official residences.
Based on 100 reviews
Studying at the University of Pretoria has been demanding but genuinely valuable. The coursework is rigorous and pushes you to think critically, especially in content-heavy modules. Some lecturers are exceptional and truly invested in student success, while others require you to be more self-driven. The campus stands out for its facilities, libraries, and overall atmosphere, which makes long study hours more manageable.
I feel like that was one of the good experiences that i had having to learn and be equiped with a lot of knowledge about engineering and would want to expand more
The University offer a variety of programs, and students would likely enjoy both academic because of the well structured courses and social aspects there. I would rate the university and would give a 4 as a rating.
The Global Student Satisfaction Awards empower students across the globe to determine the best universities of 2025. Universities with a score above 4.0 (out of 5) in any of the 7 award categories, receive Badges of Excellence. Congratulations!
How would you rate your overall study experience?
How helpful were your teachers?
How diverse was the atmosphere at your university?
How was your experience with online courses?
How simple was it to apply to your programme?
How was your everyday life?
Did the university provide support for your career development?
Wishlist