The University of Cape Town (UCT) is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, founded in 1829.

The University of Pretoria (Afrikaans: Universiteit van Pretoria, Northern Sotho: Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria.

The North-West University (NWU) is a public research university located on three campuses in Potchefstroom, Mahikeng and Vanderbijlpark in South Africa.

The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg (/vətˈvɑːtəsrɑːnt/), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg.