African podiatry schools are few and far between. South Africa’s University of Johannesburg runs the continent’s best-known podiatry degree, with master’s and doctoral study on top. Elsewhere, Tunisia offers French-style podology (podologie) training at licence level. In most other African countries there is no degree or diploma in podiatry, chiropody or podology. Foot care there is delivered by doctors, nurses, orthopaedic technologists and diabetic foot teams trained through short courses. The table below lists only programmes we could verify on official or national guidance sources. Check intake, accreditation and registration rules with each institution and with the national regulator before you apply.
| Country | Institution and location | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, Johannesburg | Bachelor of Health Sciences in Podiatry: 4 years full time, NQF level 8. Graduates can register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). |
| South Africa | University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg | Master of Health Sciences in Podiatry: research master’s with a dissertation, 1 year full time or 2 years part time, NQF level 9. |
| South Africa | University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg | Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences in Podiatry: NQF level 10, minimum 2 years. |
| Tunisia | École Supérieure des Sciences et Techniques de la Santé de Sousse (University of Sousse), Sousse | Licence en podologie (podology and pedicure), 3 years. This public programme appears in Tunisia’s national university orientation listings. Confirm current intake with the school, as older directory pages do not yet show it. |
| Tunisia | Faculté Privée des Sciences de la Santé de Tunis (UPSAT), Tunis | Licence appliquée en podologie (private). Listed in a Tunisian higher education directory. Check current accreditation and intake with the faculty and the Ministry of Higher Education. |
The University of Johannesburg’s podiatry department calls itself the only institution in Africa offering a degree in podiatry (uj.ac.za). Tunisia’s podology licences follow the francophone model and are not branded as podiatry degrees. Durban University of Technology is sometimes named as a podiatry school, but its 2027 study guide lists no podiatry qualification. We found no podiatry, chiropody or podology degree or diploma in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Morocco or Algeria. In Nigeria, foot care training has mainly come through donor-funded diabetic foot workshops for doctors, nurses and surgeons, not formal courses (worlddiabetesfoundation.org). Many African foot health professionals train abroad, often in the UK, France, Spain or Malta, and then seek recognition at home. If you know of a programme we have missed, please tell us so we can verify it and add it.
Related foot health, orthotics and footwear training in Africa
The options below are not podiatry qualifications. They are relevant to diabetic foot care, orthoses and footwear, and they are a realistic route into foot health work in countries with no podiatry school.
| Country | Institution and location | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| Tunisia | Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis | Certificat d’études complémentaires (CEC) in Podologie: one academic year, about 45 hours of teaching plus hospital placements. Open to doctors only (physical medicine, rheumatology, orthopaedics, endocrinology, dermatology, family medicine and others). Covers the diabetic foot. |
| South Africa | Durban University of Technology, Durban | Bachelor of Health Sciences in Medical Orthotics and Prosthetics (listed in the 2027 study guide). Includes orthoses relevant to foot and ankle practice. This is not a podiatry degree. |
| Tanzania | Tanzania Training Centre for Orthopaedic Technologists (TATCOT), Moshi | Diploma in Orthopaedic Technology, accredited by ISPO, leading to associate prosthetist/orthotist roles. Relevant to orthoses and footwear, not podiatry. |
If you want to practise as a podiatrist in Africa, start by checking the local rules. In South Africa, podiatry is regulated by the HPCSA, and qualifications earned abroad must be assessed before you can register. In francophone North Africa, podology sits within paramedical regulation. In most of the rest of the continent there is no podiatry register, and foot care roles are filled under nursing, medical or orthopaedic technology licences. For more on working in the region, see the IMEA POD country career guides.