These experiences have made many financially buoyant Nigerian parents to send their kids to foreign universities immediately after their SS3.
Studying in Nigeria is very nice and many successful people have passed through various Nigerian universities. There are many good Nigerian universities that you can apply for and if admitted, enjoy something close to quality education.
However if you're thinking about leaving the shores of this country, you should definitely include South Africa among your choice destinations.
Why South Africa?
South Africa is also one of the most multicultural countries in the world and studying there will expose you to the wonderful landscapes and also, the opportunity to visit the oldest archaeological sites in the world.
Talking about the climate, South Africa offers you the best climate for your studies as some parts record over 300 days of sunshine per year. Isn't that amazing?
Now let had over to thee best universities in South Africa.
10 Best Universities For Foreign Students
Currently, South Africa records a total of 26 government-owned higher institutions and a good number of private institutions and colleges.
Are you thinking of moving to South Africa for your university education? Then choosing any of the 10 universities listed below will be great:
• University of Pretoria (UP)
The University of Pretoria (established 1908) is a multi-campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. UP has since its establishment grown from the original 32 students to approximately 49,000 in 2015.Tuks (as its popularly called) is popular among PhD students and according to NigerianInfopedia.com, 15 out of 100 PhD holders in South Africa got their PhD from the University of Pretoria.
The University of Pretoria is one of the largest research universities in SA with 9 faculties and 120 departments offerijng up to 1,200 programmes.
Faculties at University of Pretoria include:
- Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology
- Faculty of Humanities
- Faculty of Education
- Faculty of Health Science
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Theology and Religion
- Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
- Faculty of Economics and Management Science
- Faculty of Veterinary Science
- Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
- Mamelodi Campus
• University of Johannesburg
Despite its recent establishment in 1st January, 2005, the University of Johannesburg still remains one of the best South African universities for foreign students.The institution came into existence as a result of the a merger between the Technikon Witwatersrand (TWR), the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) and the Soweto and East Rand campuses of Vista University.
According to Wikipedia, out of over 50,000 students in the University of Johannesburg, more than 3000 are international students from 80 countries.
UJ has a total of four campuses, all located in the metropolitan area of the City of Johannesburg:
- Auckland Park Kingsway: This is the largest and most populated UJ campus and also the seat of the administration and governance body of the university.
- Auckland Park Bunting Road (ABP): The Auckland Park Bunting Road is a unique campus because of the fact that its located in an enclosed section of a suburb. It houses the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture.
- Doornfontein: The Doornfontein campus houses the administrative offices of the Faculty of Health Sciences, as well sub faculties of Engineering and Built Environment as well as Science.
- Soweto campuses: Soweto is the former RAU campus and previously former Vista University Soweto campus.Facilities available at the different campuses include:
- Libraries
- Auditoriums, halls, galleries and conference venues
- Campus and health clinics.
- Court rooms
- Lecture rooms and micro-laboratories
- Sports facilities- Student shopping centres, restaurants and cafeterias
- A villa for postgraduate students
• University of Cape Town (UCT)
The University of Cape Town is one of the best universities in Africa and the oldest in South Africa. It was founded in 1829 as the South African College and has been serving its students with the best quality of educations.University of Cape Town is the only African university in the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF). The Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) community is comprised of the presidents of 28 of the world's top universities.
UCT is also the highest-ranked African university in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the Academic Ranking of World Universities and the QS World University Rankings.
Its Law, Medicine and Commerce Faculties are consistently placed among the hundred best internationally.
Some of their faculties and departmental divisions include:
- Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED)
- Science
- Commerce- Health Sciences
- Humanities
- Law- Engineering & the Built Environment (EBE)
- Graduate School of Business (GSB)
• Stellenbosch University (SU)
Stellenbosch University is a public research university located at the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is jointly the oldest university in South Africa alongside the University of Cape Town which received full university status on the same day in 1918.The Stellenbosch University has a total of five campuses with more than 29,000 students. SU was the first African university to sign the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities.
According to the 2017-2018 QS World University Rankings, Stellenbosch University is the second-highest ranked African University in the World University Rankings.
Stellenbosch University consists of about 150 departments divided amongst 10 faculties. It also has more than 40 research (and other) institutions.
Some of the faculties include:
- Agri-Sciences
- Arts and Social Sciences
- Economic and Management Sciences
- Education
- Engineering
- Law- Education
- Engineering
- Medicine and Health Sciences
- Military Science
- Science
- Theology
• Rhodes University
Rhodes University is the oldest among the four universities located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is also the fifth or sixth oldest university in South Africa being founded in 1904 as Rhodes University College.Rhodes University currently has 8,000 students of which just 3,600 are residing in the campuses while the rest are staying in off-campus residences or with their parents in the towns.
Rhodes University has six faculties, which are listed below:
- Commerce
- Education
- Humanities
- Law
- Pharmacy
- Science
• North-West University (NWU)
North-West University has three campuses in South Africa :- Potchefstroom, Mahikeng (Previously Mafikeng) and Vanderbijlpark.
NWU officially came into being in on 1 January 2004 after the South African government merged the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education and the University of North-West.
It is currently one of the oldest universities in South Africa with a total of 64 081 students (both full-time and distance education).
The North-West University university is home to 8 faculties including:
- Economic and Management Sciences
- Education
- Engineering
- Health Sciences
- Humanities
- Law
- Natural and Agricultural Sciences
- Theology
• University of Witwatersrand (WITS)
The University of the WitwatersrandThe University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, is a multi-campus South African public research university located at the northern areas of central Johannesburg.
The university was founded in 1896 as the South African School of Mines in Kimberley making it the third oldest university in South Africa.
In 2017 WITS enrolled a total of 38,353 students out of which approximately 20 percent live on campus.
The University of the Witwatersrand is home to 5 faculties including:
- Commerce
- Law and Management
- Engineering and the Built Environment
- Health Sciences
- Humanities and Science.
• University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Durban-Westville and the University of Natal in 2004.In 2007, UKZN had a total of 28,704 comprising of 24,897 undergraduates and 3,807 postgraduates. In 2016 the number of students increased to 46,539 with a staff count of 1,328 (academic staff).
University of KwaZulu-Natal is ranked by the Times Higher Education as the fourth best university in South Africa.
The university is made up of four colleges:
- College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science
- College of Health Sciences
- College of Humanities
- College of Law and Management Studies
• University of Free State (UFS)
The University of the Free State is a multi campus public university in Bloemfontein, South Africa. University of Free State was in 2010, ranked by Webometrics as the 9th best in South Africa and 2095th in the world.The university comprises of over 64,000 students across its 3 campuses. Some of its notable alumnus include the likes of Deon Meyer, Bram Fischer, Rolene Strauss, Heinrich Brussow, C.R. Swart and Hansie Cronje. On the 24th of June 2011, Oprah Winfrey was awarded an honorary doctorate in education by the university.
Some of the academic divisions include:
- Economic and Management Sciences
- Education- Health Sciences
- Law
- Natural and Agricultural Sciences
- Humanities
- Theology
- University of the Free State Business School
• University of the Western Cape (UWC)
The University of the Western Cape is a public university located in the Bellville suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It has a history of creative struggle against discrimination, oppression and disadvantage. UWC was in 2014, ranked by Webometrics as the 6th best in South Africa, 7th best in Africa and 885th in the world.Some of its notable alumnus include the likes of Danny Jordaan, Maurus Nekaro, José LuÃs Guterres, Kamanda Bataringaya, Sibongile Ndashe and Zoe Wicomb.
Thanks for reading along, don't forget to drop your comments and share with your friends. You will like our next article on the updated list of top 48+ education blogs in Nigeria.
We give you the best daily information on news, technology, lifestyle, career, health tips, agriculture, business and entertainment. If you can write very well and want to make a living writing online, click HERE!