Your UCT

20 January 2020

5 strategic goals

  1. Creating a new and inclusive identity
  2. Establishing global partnerships with a distinctive African lens
  3. Remaining a research-intensive university
  4. Harnessing innovation in teaching and learning
  5. Achieving social impact through engaged scholarship

*33 catered or self-catering residences

  • 6 702 students live in UCT residences
  • 21 947 students live off campus

*Figures from 2018


40 different sports

Sports facilities include:

  • a rowing club
  • astro turf hockey fields
  • tennis and squash courts
  • an indoor sports facility and soccer, rugby and cricket facilities.

The UCT Gym is on lower campus near Graça Machel Hall.


100+ societies to choose from

Societies are run by students and reflect various interests, including academic, religious, cultural, social and political activities.


Students by faculty (including the Graduate School of Business)

  • 6 722 – Commerce
  • 708 – Graduate School of Business
  • 4 839 – Engineering & the Built Environment
  • 5 021 – Health Sciences
  • 7 358 – Humanities
  • 286 – Law
  • 3 095 – Science

123 countries represented on campus

South Africa – 23 664
Southern African Development Community – 2 796
Elsewhere in Africa – 984
Elsewhere in the world – 1 521
Undeclared – 64


29 029 students enrolled in 2019

  • 15 539 female
  • 13 470 male
  • 18 transgender
  • 2 unspecified
  • 16 698 undergraduates
  • 11 095 postgraduates
  • 1 236 occasional students

5 630 new first-years were accepted at UCT in 2019

Around 7 000 students graduate each year


5 000+ permanent staff

  • 3 700 professional, administrative support and service (PASS) staff.
  • 1 208 permanent academic staff members worked at UCT in 2018.

86 languages are spoken

The largest South African language groups are:

  • English 16 084
  • isiXhosa 3 020
  • isiZulu 1 777
  • Afrikaans 1 170
  • Setswana 585

12 things that make UCT unique

  1. #1 in Africa: UCT is the highest ranked African university according to Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds world university rankings.
  2. Oldest: Established in 1829, UCT is South Africa’s oldest university.
  3. First black woman graduate: Anti-apartheid and civil rights leader, Zalnunnissa (Cissie) Gool, graduated from UCT with an MA in 1932.
  4. Centre for Higher Education Development: CHED partners with all faculties to ensure students don’t just gain access to UCT, but also succeed.
  5. 15% of SA’s NRF-rated researchers: UCT has 541 National Research Foundation (NRF)-rated researchers.
  6. 44% women: 44% of the academics at UCT are women.
  7. 25 km2: The total area of UCT’s campuses, including its satellite facilities in Gardens, Observatory, Philippi and the Atlantic Seaboard.
  8. 53 349 linear metres (and growing): The capacity of shelving at UCT Libraries, which uses the cutting-edge search tool, Primo, to help you find the information you need.
  9. Cape Flats: The UCT Graduate School of Business’s MTN Solution Space in Philippi Village means the university has a physical footprint on the flats.
  10. d-school: The UCT Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Thinking is one of only three in the world.
  11. Nobel laureates: UCT is alma mater to five Nobel laureates.
  12. MOOCs: UCT now has 22 massive open online courses, which have attracted more than 230 000 people from over 100 countries.

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Please view the republishing articles page for more information.


Campus Life

Campus Life Orientation 2020

20 Jan 2020


Download PDF

Campus Life 2020

All photographs UCT, Je'nine May, Michael Hammond, Brenton Geach, Unsplash, Flickr, Pexels, Freepik.

Orientation 2020



View campus maps.

Previous Editions

TOP