There are six faculties at UCT – Commerce, Engineering & the Built Environment, Health Sciences, Humanities, Law and Science – which are supported in their teaching and learning by the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED).
Commerce
WHO? With approximately 6 700 students, Commerce offers several undergraduate specialisations, including accounting, actuarial science, computer science, economics, finance, information systems, law, management studies, marketing, organizational psychology, quantitative finance and statistical sciences.
WHAT? Seven departments and 12 research groups
WOW! Officially launched in October 2019, UCT’s School of IT is a collaboration between the Department of Information Systems in the Faculty of Commerce and the Department of Computer Science in the Faculty of Science.
WHERE? Leslie Commerce Building, School of Economics and Linkoping House.
021 650 4375 | com-faculty@uct.ac.za
Engineering & the Built Environment
WHO? With more than 5 000 students and staff, state-of the-art facilities and world-renowned teaching staff, the faculty is home to architects, engineers, planners, quantity surveyors, geomaticians, and property and construction managers.
WHAT? 66 National Research Foundation-rated staff members; 20 active research groups covering African urbanism, fuel cells, minerals, biomedical engineering, robotics, alternative energy; and more.
WOW! Baleka — Africa’s first two-legged robot developed in
mechatronics. • Leading the way with the development of Africa’s first 5G testbed. • Bio-bricks made from urine. • Green solar-powered houses.
WHERE? New Engineering Building, Menzies Building and others
021 650 2699 | ebe-faculty@uct.ac.za
Health Sciences
WHO? The oldest medical school in sub-Saharan Africa (established in 1912), the faculty has more than 3 000 staff, 2 100 undergraduates and 2 600 postgraduates. It’s considered a centre of excellence in teaching, learning and research for health professionals and scientists.
WHAT? Addressing health challenges facing our society, particularly those affecting Africa • 13 academic departments with 106 divisions
WOW! The world’s first successful human heart transplant in 1967. • The top-rated health sciences faculty on the continent, and among the top 100 globally. • The most National Research Foundation A-rated researchers at UCT. • On average, researchers in the faculty publish more than four peer-reviewed articles every day. • Home to four out of the top 10 inventors by patents granted at UCT.
WHERE? Health Sciences campus (adjacent to Groote Schuur Hospital)
021 406 6328 | aafhs@uct.ac.za
Humanities
WHO? With over 7 000 students, this faculty comprises 17 academic departments, located in three main clusters: the Arts, the Social Sciences, and the Performing and Creative Arts.
WHAT? The largest faculty at UCT with 15 research centres and institutes offering 30 academic majors as well as the opportunity to choose from 21 majors offered through other faculties.
WOW! The faculty is home to over 80 National Research Foundation-rated researchers and four SARhI Chairs. Many internationally renowned artists and scholars, such as Pretty Yende, Akin Omotoso and JM Coetzee, graduated from the faculty.
WHERE? Upper Campus, Lower Campus, Hiddingh Campus
021 650 2717 | hum-ugrad@uct.ac.za
Law
WHO? Made up of more than 1 200 students (45% postgraduates) and 165 staff, the Faculty of Law was rated in the Top 100 Law Schools in the world by the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings 2019.
WHAT? The oldest and smallest Faculty at UCT • Home to world-class research units that provide the bridge between academic endeavour and social application • Two community-serving law clinics, one focused on refugee rights
WOW! The faculty has 25 international agreements that support law students to pursue international exchanges, a dedicated Moot Court for practicing mooting skills, a new Law and Technology hub focused on legal tech, a 24/7 library space and many facilities to support an excellent law student experience.
WHERE? Wilfred and Jules Kramer Law Building
021 650 3086 | law-studies@uct.ac.za
Science
WHO? The almost 3 000 students and staff in the Science Faculty contribute to globally relevant research, including African climate and development, biodiversity, chemistry and biology for health in Africa, marine biology, southern skies and the evolving universe, and human evolution.
WHAT? 12 departments, including archaeology, astronomy, biological sciences, chemistry, computer sciences, environmental and geographical sciences, geological sciences, mathematics and applied mathematics, molecular and cell biology, oceanography, physics and statistical sciences.
WOW! Two alumni have won Nobel Prizes, the faculty has 27 international leaders in their field and our lecturers regularly win the Distinguished Teacher Award. • Over a third of the university’s annual PhD graduates hail from the Faculty of Science.
WHERE? Several buildings on upper campus, including PD Hahn and RW James
021 650 2712 | sci-science@uct.ac.za
Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED)
WHO? CHED is a faculty-like structure headed by an academic dean. It works across faculties and aims to continually improve access to and the quality of higher education, promote excellence through equity, develop the curriculum in partnership with faculties, enhance the professionalism of teaching staff, help students to make informed choices, provide opportunities to make the most of their university experience to be employable, and enable systemic improvement through the research-led development of informed policies.
WHAT? Academic Development Programme (ADP) • Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) • Careers Service • Centre for Educational Testing for Access and Placement (CETAP) • Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking (d-school).
WOW! CHED is supported by rigorous research in key areas, including higher education, academic literacy, curriculum development, work readiness initiatives, educational technology, online and blended learning, assessment and diagnostic testing, numeracy, the first-year experience and multilingualism. • The Distinguished Teacher Award has been awarded to several CHED staff over the years, including Assoc Prof Janice McMillan (2016), Tim Low (2011) and Carla Fourie (2009).
WHERE? Huri oaxa (Hoerikwaggo) building
021 650 2645 | ched@uct.ac.za
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