South Africa's universities
Many of South Africa's universities are world-class academic institutions at the cutting edge of research in various spheres. Together, the country's 21 public higher education institutions offer a range of study and research options for both local and international students.
Although subsidised by the state, South Africa's universities are autonomous, reporting to their own councils rather than the government.
The country's higher education sector was recently restructured, as the previous system and its programmes still reflected the priorities of the old apartheid-based system.
The restructuring also brought in comprehensive universities, a new type of institution designed to cater for the merger of some universities with former "technikons". Comprehensive universities offer a broad range of degrees, diplomas and certificates, and will help widen access to tertiary education in the country.
Here's a quick rundown of South Africa's 21 universities, in alphabetical order.
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Incorporating the former Cape and Peninsula technikons, the university is the largest in the Western Cape, with over 25 000 students on two main campuses, in Bellville and Cape Town.
Central University of Technology
Incorporating the former Technikon Free State and Vista University's Welkom campus, the university is based in Bloemfontein. Over 100 courses are offered in three faculties: management; engineering, information and communication sciences; and health and environmental sciences.
Durban University of Technology
Incorporating the former ML Sultan, Natal and Mangosuthu technikons, as well as the former University of Zululand's Umlazi campus, the university has major campuses in Durban and Pietermaritzburg as well as satellite campuses in Umlazi.
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
The university has more than 20 000 students and about 2 000 staff members spread across eight campuses in the Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape and George in the Western Cape. It incorporates the former PE Technikon, University of Port Elizabeth and Vista University's Port Elizabeth campus.
North West University
North West University has more than 45 000 students spread over four campuses. It offers parallel instruction in Afrikaans, English and Setswana, and is experimenting with simultaneous instruction on its Potchefstroom campus.
Rhodes University
Based in the Eastern Cape town of Grahamstown, Rhodes University is over a century old and is best known for its journalism department. The university has some 500 academic staff and 7 000 students.
Stellenbosch University
Situated in the wine-growing region of Stellenbosch, 60km from Cape Town, Stellenbosch University has four campuses: the main campus at Stellenbosch, the health sciences faculty at Tygerberg Hospital, the business school in Bellville, and military sciences faculty in Saldanha.
Tshwane University of Technology
Incorporating the former Northern Gauteng, North West and Pretoria technikons, Tshwane University of Technology offers masters and doctoral programmes in addition to degrees, certificates and diplomas.
University of Cape Town
South Africa's oldest university, founded in 1829, has one of the most picturesque campuses in the world, situated on the slopes of Table Mountain's Devil's Peak and overlooking Rondebosch in Cape Town. The university is regarded as one of the top research institutions on the continent, with more "A" rated scientists than any other South African university. The university is home to Groote Schuur Hospital, where the world's first heart transplant took place in 1967.
University of Fort Hare
Fort Hare, dating back to 1916, is the oldest historically black university in the country. It has been the academic home of many of South Africa's most prominent leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Govan Mbeki, and Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Fort Hare has three Eastern Cape campuses, in Alice, Bhisho and East London. The university offers a range of degrees and diplomas in its faculties of education, science and agriculture, social sciences and humanities, management and commerce, and at the Nelson Mandela School of Law.
University of Johannesburg
Incorporating the former Rand Afrikaans University, Technikon Witwatersrand and Vista University's Johannesburg campuses, the university offers both technical and academic programmes for around 45 000 students.
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Incorporating the former Durban-Westville and Natal universities, the university covers five campuses in Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
University of Limpopo
Formerly the University of the North, and based in South Africa's northern Limpopo province, the university provides training in three faculties: humanities; management sciences and law; and sciences, health and agriculture.
University of Pretoria
Established in 1930, the university is one of South Africa's largest, with almost 40 000 students, including over 2 000 international students from 60 countries. The university's Gordon Institute of Business Science, established in Johannesburg in 2000, has already earned an international reputation, while its faculty of veterinary science at Onderstepoort is the only one of its kind in South Africa.
University of South Africa
Unisa is one of the largest distance-learning universities in the world, made larger by the recent incorporation of the former Technikon SA and Vista University's distance education division. Based in Pretoria, it offers distance education programmes – both academic and technical – to students across the country, the region and the world.
University of the Free State
Established in 1904, the university is home to around 20 000 students, 16 000 on the main Bloemfontein campus and 3 000 enrolled in the university's distance and internet learning programmes.
University of the Western Cape
Originally established in 1959 as an ethnic college for coloured students, the university provides facilities for over 12 000 students across 68 departments and 16 institutes, schools and research centres.
University of the Witwatersrand
Based in Johannesburg, Wits University is one of the country's leading research institutions, attracting students from across Africa. Since full university status was granted in 1922, Wits has produced more than 100 000 graduates across a range of disciplines. The university offers degrees in the faculties of engineering and the built environment, humanities, health sciences, science and commerce.
University of Venda
The University of Venda for Science and Technology, situated in Thohoyandou in Limpopo, offers career-focussed programmes in the fields of health, agriculture and rural development; humanities, management sciences and law; and natural and applied sciences.
Vaal University of Technology
The university has around 15 000 students spread across its main campus in Vanderbijlpark, 60km south-west of Johannesburg, and four satellite campuses, which include the Sebokeng campus of the former Vista University.
Walter Sisulu University
Incorporating the former Border and Eastern Cape technikons and the University of the Transkei, the university has around 20 000 students spread across its campuses in East London, Butterworth, Queenstown and Mthatha. It offers a range of degrees, certificates and diplomas in 11 faculties, and hosts an MBChB programme in Mthatha.
SAinfo reporter and MediaClubSouthAfrica.com – get free high-resolution photos and professional feature articles from Brand South Africa's media service.
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