University of Cape Town facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
University of Cape Town

Universiteit van Kaapstad iYunivesithi yaseKapa
Former names	South African College
Motto	Latin: Spes Bona
Motto in English	"Good Hope"
Type	Public
Established	1 October 1829; 195 years ago (1829-10-01)
Academic affiliations	AAU ACU CHEC HESA IARU IAU WUN
Endowment	ZAR 11.8 billion (US$ 901 million)
Chancellor	Precious Moloi-Motsepe
Vice-Chancellor	Mosa Moshabela
Academic staff	1,176
Administrative staff	3,179
Students	28,233
Undergraduates	16,530
Postgraduates	11,193
Location	Cape Town , Western Cape , South Africa 33°57′27″S 18°27′38″E / 33.95750°S 18.46056°E / -33.95750; 18.46056
Campus	4 suburban and 2 urban campuses
Acceptance Rate	4.85%
Colours	Light blue, dark blue, black, white
Nickname	Ikeys
Mascot	Ikey Tiger

The University of Cape Town (UCT) is a well-known public research university located in Cape Town, South Africa. It was started in 1829 as the South African College. In 1918, it became a full university. This makes it the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest in Sub-Saharan Africa that has been open continuously.

UCT has 57 departments across six main areas called faculties. It offers many types of degrees, from bachelor's to doctoral degrees. All classes are taught in English. About 30,000 students attend UCT, which has six campuses around Cape Town. It is the only university in Africa that is part of the Global University Leaders Forum, a group of 26 top universities worldwide.

Many people linked to UCT, including former students, staff, and researchers, have won the famous Nobel Prize. Also, 88 staff members are part of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa.

Discovering UCT's Past

How UCT Began

The University of Cape Town started in 1829 as the South African College. It was a high school for young men. Over time, it added more advanced education. After 1880, the discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa created a need for skilled workers. This helped the college get more money to grow.

Between 1880 and 1900, the college became a full university. It built its first science labs and started departments for studying minerals and geology. This helped train people for the mining industries. The UCT crest, which is like its symbol, was designed in 1859 by Charles Davidson Bell. He was a talented artist who also designed medals.

Welcoming Women Students

An important change during this time was allowing women to study at the college. In 1886, a chemistry professor named Paul Daniel Hahn convinced the leaders to let four women join his chemistry class as a test. The women did so well that the college decided to let women students in permanently. This happened in 1887, to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

Between 1902 and 1918, UCT added a Medical School, engineering courses, and an Education Department. UCT officially became a university in 1918. This was possible thanks to money left by Alfred Beit and large gifts from mining leaders Julius Wernher and Otto Beit. The university also received support from people in Cape Town and a big grant from the government.

View of the Upper Campus at Groote Schuur from the east. The university moved here in 1928.

In 1928, the university moved most of its buildings to Groote Schuur. This land was given to the nation by Cecil John Rhodes to be the site for a national university. UCT celebrated its 100th birthday the next year.

UCT During Apartheid

In the years that followed, UCT became a top university for teaching and research. From 1960 to 1990, it was known as "Moscow on the Hill." This was because it strongly opposed apartheid, especially in higher education.

UCT first allowed a small number of black students in the 1920s. The number stayed low until the 1980s and 90s. During this time, the university worked to become more inclusive. From the 1980s to the early 1990s, the number of black students increased by 35 percent. By 2004, almost half of UCT's 20,000 students were black, and nearly half were female. Today, UCT has one of the most diverse student bodies in South Africa.

UCT After Apartheid

Rhodes Must Fall was a student protest movement that started on March 9, 2015. It began because students wanted a statue of Cecil Rhodes at UCT to be removed. The campaign gained worldwide attention. It led to a bigger movement to "decolonise" education across South Africa. The statue was removed on April 9, 2015, after the UCT Council voted for it.

The FeesMustFall movement was another student protest. It started at the University of the Witwatersrand and spread to UCT and other South African universities. Students demanded that tuition fee increases for 2016 be stopped. They also called for no fees at all and for higher education to be "decolonised." These protests led to big changes at public universities in South Africa. At UCT, the university started to change its curriculum and rename buildings on campus. For example, Jameson Hall was renamed Sarah Baartman Hall in 2019.

In March 2020, UCT opened the Neuroscience Institute. This was done with the Western Cape Provincial Government at the Groote Schuur Hospital. It is the first center in Africa dedicated to studying and treating brain and mental health problems.

Exploring UCT's Campuses

Sarah Baartman Hall and Memorial Plaza, a central spot on Upper Campus.

Hiddingh Hall Library on Hiddingh Campus in Gardens, Cape Town.

UCT's main teaching area is called Upper Campus. It is on the Rhodes Estate, on the slopes of Devil's Peak. This campus has the faculties of Science, Engineering, Commerce, and Humanities (except for the arts departments). It also has student residences like Smuts Hall and Fuller Hall.

Upper Campus is centered around Sarah Baartman Hall. This is where graduation ceremonies and many exams take place. The first buildings on Upper Campus were designed by JM Solomon and built between 1928 and 1930. Many more buildings have been added as the university has grown. The main library, The Chancellor Oppenheimer Library, is also on Upper Campus. It holds most of the university's 1.3 million books.

Middle and Lower Campuses

Next to Upper Campus, but separated by sports fields and the M3 expressway, are the Middle and Lower Campuses. These campuses are in the suburbs of Rondebosch, Rosebank, and Mowbray. They include the Law Faculty, the South African College of Music, the School of Economics, most student residences, and administrative offices. There are also various sports facilities, including a FIFA-approved artificial grass soccer field. The Upper, Middle, and Lower Campuses are often called the "main campus."

The Faculty of Health Sciences is on the Medical School campus, next to the Groote Schuur Hospital in Observatory. The Fine Arts and Drama departments are on the Hiddingh Campus in central Cape Town. The university's original building there, the Egyptian Building, was built in the Egyptian Revival style.

The UCT Graduate School of Business is on the Breakwater Lodge Campus at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

The Baxter Theatre Centre

The Baxter Theatre Centre is part of UCT and is on the Lower Campus. It is the second-largest performing arts center in Cape Town. It has three performance spaces:

• The 665-seat Main Theatre.
• The 638-seat Concert Hall, which has a special Von Beckerath organ.
• The 172-seat Golden Arrow Studio.

A bronze statue of Cecil Rhodes was put up in 1934 on Upper Campus. It overlooked the university's rugby fields. In April 2015, student groups pushed for its removal. They felt it represented South Africa's colonial past and that the university did not have enough black students and staff. The statue was then removed.

In April 2021, the Upper Campus was affected by the Table Mountain fire. The Jagger Library building, which held rare books and documents, was badly damaged.

Upper Campus seen from the rugby fields, with Devil's Peak in the background.

Student Homes at UCT

The university has 19 student residences, also called "res." These offer housing for both single-gender and mixed-gender groups. The Department of Student Housing manages these residences. College House is the oldest university residence in Africa, started in 1887.

UCT's residences are divided into three levels. Students move to a higher level as they spend more time in the residence system or work part-time in a residence. Postgraduate students usually live in the third-tier residences.

First-tier residences:

• Avenue Road Residence
• Baxter Hall
• Clarinus Village
• College House
• Dullah Omar Hall
• Fuller Hall
• Glendover Residence
• Graça Machel Hall
• Kilindini
• Kopano Residence
• Leo Marquard Hall
• Rochester House
• Smuts Hall
• Tugwell Hall
• University House
• Varietas

Second-tier residences:

• Forest Hill
• Groote Schuur Flats
• Groote Schuur Residence
• Liesbeeck Gardens
• Medical Residence
• Obz Square
• The Woolsack

Third-tier residences:

• 1 Woodbine Road
• 8 Avenue Road
• Amalinda
• Dullah Omar Hall
• Edwin Hart Annex
• F Block (Forest Hill)
• Harold Cressy Hall
• Inglewood
• JP Duminy Court
• Linkoping
• North Grange
• Rondeberg
• TB Davie Court

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  Smuts Hall, built in 1928 on the Upper Campus

• 

  Tugwell Hall, built in 1974 on the Lower Campus

How UCT is Organized

Leadership and Management

Mamokgethi Phakeng was the university's second Black female Vice-Chancellor.

The University of Cape Town was officially made a public university by a special law in 1918. Today, it follows rules set by the Higher Education Act, 1997.

The main leader of the university is the Chancellor. This is a special role without daily power. The Chancellor's main job is to give out degrees and represent the university to the world. The current Chancellor is Precious Moloi-Motsepe, who started in 2020.

The University Council is the highest group that makes decisions and appoints people at UCT. It has wide powers over the university's plans and well-being. It reports to the Government of South Africa through the Minister of Higher Education. The Council has 30 members from different groups, including students, teachers, staff, and people appointed by the City of Cape Town.

The Convocation is a group made up of former students and staff. It allows them to stay involved with the university. It can suggest ideas and pass resolutions, but these are not legally binding.

The Leadership Lekgotla is a group of senior leaders who manage the university's daily operations. The most senior leader is the Vice Chancellor, who is the chief executive of the university. Currently, this role is held by Mosa Moshabela. Below the Vice Chancellor are Deputy Vice Chancellors who oversee different areas like research, teaching, and transformation.

University Chancellors & Vice-Chancellors
Chancellor		Vice-Chancellor
Term	Name & image	Term	Name
1918–1936	H.R.H. the Prince of Wales	1918–1938	Sir John Carruthers Beattie
1936–1950	General Jan Smuts	1938–1947	AW Falconer
1950–1967	The Hon. Mr Justice Albert van der Sandt Centlivres	1948–1955	TB Davie
		1956–1957	RW James, in an acting capacity
		1958–1967	Jacobus Duminy
1967–1999	Harry Oppenheimer	1968–1980	Sir Richard Luyt
		1981–1996	Stuart J Saunders
		1996–2000	Mamphela Ramphele
1999–2019	Graça Machel	2000–2008	Njabulo Ndebele
		2008–2018	Max Price
2019–present	Precious Moloi-Motsepe	2018–2023	Mamokgethi Phakeng
		2023–2024	Daya Reddy, interim
		2024-	Mosa Moshabela

Academic Areas of Study

UCT has six main faculties: Commerce, Engineering and the Built Environment, Health Sciences, Law, Sciences, and Humanities. Together, these have 57 departments. Each faculty is led by a Dean. They manage their own academic matters, like class schedules, admission rules, and exams.

Some academic groups are not part of a specific faculty. For example, the Center for Higher Education Development is on the same level as the faculties. The UCT Graduate School of Business also has a lot of freedom, even though it's technically part of the Commerce Faculty. The School of Information Technology helps coordinate IT education and research across different faculties.

The departments within the faculties include:

Entrance to the Bolus Herbarium Library in the Department of Botany building.

Faculty of Commerce

• College of Accounting
• School of Economics (also part of Humanities)
• Department of Finance and Tax
• Department of Information Systems
• The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance
• School of Management Studies
• Education Development Unit
• Graduate School of Business

Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment

• Department of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics
• Department of Chemical Engineering
• Department of Civil Engineering
• Department of Construction Economics and Management
• Department of Electrical Engineering
• Department of Mechanical Engineering

Faculty of Health Sciences

• Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine
• Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
• Department of Health Sciences Education
• Department of Human Biology
• Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences
• Department of Medicine
• Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Department of Paediatrics and Child Health
• Department of Pathology
• Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health
• Department of Public Health and Family Medicine
• Department of Radiation Medicine
• Department of Surgery

The South African College of Music building, started in 1910.

Faculty of Humanities

• African Feminist Studies
• Anthropology
• African Studies and Linguistics
• Centre for Film and Media Studies
• Education Development Unit
• English Literary Studies
• Historical Studies
• Knowledge and Information Stewardship
• Michaelis School of Fine Art
• Department of Philosophy
• Department of Political Studies
• School of Education
• Department of Psychology
• School of Languages and Literatures
• Department of Social Work & Social Development
• Department of Sociology
• South African College of Music
• Department for the Study of Religions
• Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies

The Kramer Building, home of the smallest faculty, the Law Faculty.

Faculty of Law

• Department of Commercial Law
• Department of Private Law
• Department of Public Law

Faculty of Science

• Department of Archaeology
• Department of Astronomy
• Department of Biological Sciences
• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Computer Science
• Department of Environmental and Geographical Science
• Department of Geological Sciences
• Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics
• Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
• Department of Oceanography
• Department of Physics
• Department of Statistical Sciences

How UCT Gets Its Money

The central section of the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library.

The university's endowment is like its savings account. This money is invested to help UCT do its work. The UCT Foundation manages these funds. The university is working to increase its endowment through fundraising campaigns. As of 2019, UCT had about R2.5 billion in designated funds and R676 million in undesignated funds.

There have been campaigns asking UCT to stop investing in certain companies. For example, "Fossil Free UCT" wanted the university to stop investing in fossil fuel companies. Another group asked UCT to stop investing in Israeli companies working in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, but the university did not agree to this.

UCT gets its income from several sources. These include money from the government, tuition fees from students, donations, and money from investments and research. In 2017–2018, the university received R1.415 billion from the state and R1.428 billion in tuition fees. About R1.2 billion was used to help students with financial aid.

Students and Staff at UCT

In 2018, there were 27,907 students at UCT. About 25% were black South African, 22% were white South African, and 15% were international students. In 2016, there were 29,074 students and 4,542 staff members.

UCT has a plan to increase the number of black South African staff members. By 2015, the goal was to have more black staff than white staff in most job categories, except for senior lecturer and professor positions. In 2017, UCT had 45 white professors, 38 black African, Coloured, or Indian South African professors, and 67 foreign national professors.

Student Enrollment by Group (2009–2013)

This table shows how many students from different groups were enrolled at UCT between 2009 and 2013.

Student Life at UCT

In 2003, UCT had 36 different sports clubs. These included team sports, individual sports, extreme sports, and martial arts.

The university's sports teams, especially the rugby union team, are called the "Ikey Tigers" or the "Ikeys." UCT's traditional rugby rival is Stellenbosch University. They play an annual "Intervarsity" match. The University of Cape Town Football Club, also known as the "Ikeys Warriors," is the main team for soccer.

North end of University Avenue looking south, on Upper Campus.

As of 2007, there were more than 80 student societies at UCT. They fit into five groups:

• Academic societies: For students interested in a specific subject. Examples include the History and Current Affairs Society (HCA) and the Space and Astronomy Society (SpaceSoc).
• Political societies: These include youth branches of national political parties.
• Religious societies: Some are linked to religious groups or places of worship.
• National/cultural societies: For students from particular countries or backgrounds.
• Special interest societies: For those interested in various activities or issues. Examples include RainbowUCT (the university's LGBTI society) and the UCT Mountain & Ski Club.

Besides these societies, several student organizations work to help communities around the university. Some of the largest are SHAWCO, Ubunye, and RAG. Recently, student movements like the Green Campus Initiative have also grown.

UCT's Global Standing

UCT is highly ranked among universities worldwide. In 2019, it was ranked 198th by QS World University Rankings and 156th by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities placed it between 201st and 300th.

Some of UCT's faculties, like Commerce, Law, and Medicine, have been ranked among the top 100 internationally. For example, the Law faculty was ranked 40th globally in 2014. While UCT remains the highest-ranked university in Africa as of 2022, its overall ranking has been slowly going down since 2015.

University of Cape Town World Ranking

    QS World University Rankings     Times Higher Education World University Rankings

UCT's Connections and Partnerships

UCT is part of many important groups of universities. These include the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), the Association of African Universities, and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. It is also a member of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) and the International Association of Universities.

The Faculty of Law is a member of the Law Schools Global League (LSGL).

Famous People from UCT

Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant. He was a student and teacher at UCT.

Nobel Prize for Literature winner, J. M. Coetzee.

Former UCT Vice-Chancellor and Managing Director of World Bank, Mamphela Ramphele.

Five people connected to UCT have won Nobel Prizes. These include Ralph Bunche, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950. Professor Allan McLeod Cormack won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1979 for his work on X-ray scans. Max Theiler won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1951 for a yellow fever vaccine. Sir Aaron Klug won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1982 for his work on how tiny parts of living things are structured. Professor Emeritus J. M. Coetzee won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003.

Many UCT alumni (former students) have become leaders in academics, politics, and other fields. A study in 2018 showed that 6% of members of the Parliament of South Africa had a degree from UCT. Famous alumni include ministers like Naledi Pandor and Ebrahim Patel. Also, Mamphela Ramphele, a former Vice President of the World Bank, and Christiaan Barnard, who performed the first human heart transplant, studied at UCT. Other notable alumni are writer Breyten Breytenbach, Ubuntu creator Mark Shuttleworth, activist and judge Albie Sachs, singer Zolani Mahola, cartoonist Zapiro, and former Speaker Baleka Mbete. You can find more famous UCT alumni on the List of Notable Alumni of the University of Cape Town page.

The National Research Foundation of South Africa rates researchers based on their work. As of 2019, 35 UCT staff members are "A-rated." This means they are recognized as international leaders in their fields. UCT has the most A-rated researchers in South Africa. Also, 88 UCT faculty members are part of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa.

Important Research at UCT

Tuberculosis researchers working in a special lab at UCT. The Institute of Infectious Disease is known for its work on this disease.

• The Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics is a global center for research in cosmology (the study of the universe) and topology (a branch of mathematics).
• The Centre for Rhetoric Studies is the only one of its kind in Africa.
• The Department of Physics is home to the UCT-CERN research center. They help with software for the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider.
• The Department of Electrical Engineering helps develop technology for the Karoo Array Telescope (KAT). KAT is a step towards building the Square Kilometer Array, which will be the world's largest radio telescope.
• The Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IIDMM) researches tuberculosis vaccines and HIV vaccines for the South African epidemic.
• The OpenUCT Initiative makes UCT's research and teaching materials available online for free.
• The Department of Archaeology has found some of the oldest evidence of art and abstract thought in the world. This includes engraved ostrich eggshell water containers from 60,000 years ago.
• The African Centre for Cities is one of the few research groups focusing on urbanism (the study of cities) in Africa.
• On September 21, 2020, the new Khoi and San Centre was launched. It plans to offer an undergraduate degree program soon. The center will support research on language (like Khoekhoegowab), ancient human remains, land, and gender.

Images for kids

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  Memorial Plaza on Upper Campus viewed from the columns of the Sarah Baartman Hall

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  The Oracle Fountain next to the Department of Mathematics Building; inspired by the I Ching trigrams on the Taoist sun disc

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  Fuller Hall, a student residence on Upper Campus built in 1928

• 

  The rugby fields that separate the Upper Campus and Middle Campus

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  The M3 highway that separates the Upper Campus and Middle Campus; a tunnel beneath the highway connects the two campuses.

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  The Japonica Walk, a footpath connecting the Upper, Middle and Lower Campuses; it is lined with various flora, including japonica flowers and oak trees.

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  The Japonica Walk, looking towards the Summer House Pavilion

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  The Summer House Pavilion, built c. 1760, is one of the oldest buildings in South Africa.

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  The Woolsack Building; it was a refuge for writers and artists, and also where Rudyard Kipling spent his summers between 1900 and 1908.

• 

  The famous steps on Upper Campus leading up to the Sarah Baartman Hall, nicknamed the "Jammie steps"

• 

  The Jagger Library, housing rare books and special collections

• 

  View from the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library

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  Entrance to the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology

• 

  Student Housing and Residence Life Building

• 

  The Breakwater Lodge, which houses the UCT Graduate School of Business

• 

  A lecture theatre in the Leslie Social Science Building (Faculty of Humanities)

See Also

In Spanish: Universidad de Ciudad del Cabo para niños

• Centre for Curating the Archive
• List of universities in South Africa
• Education in South Africa
• Chancellor of the University of Cape Town
• Open access in South Africa and List of South African open access repositories
• List of demonstrations at the University of Cape Town