Institution - Where should I go study?

Gauteng

UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA

The University of Pretoria is also referred to as Tuks, Tukkies or UP. This university was founded in 1908 and has grown from 32 students initially to approximately 39 000 students. The university is situated in Pretoria. The university also has its own radio station (Tuks FM) which is run from the university’s student centre. The university has a mascot called Oom Gert. This mascot was made official in 1929 and many have made attempted kidnappings on the mascot.

www.up.ac.za

UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG

The University of Johannesburg is also referred to as UJ. This university is the result of a merger between RAU (Rand Afrikaans University) and TWR (Technikon Witwatersrand). UJ was established in 2005 and has approximately 48 000 students. The university is still incorrectly referred to as RAU by many people. The hoopoe is the official mascot for the UJ Sports Bureau. There is an island in the Vaal river which is owned by UJ. It is formerly been known as Rau Island.

www.uj.ac.za/

UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND

The University of the Witwatersrand is also referred to as Wits. Wits was founded in 1896. It is based in Johannesburg. There are approximately 28 000 students enrolled at Wits. This university was originally founded in Kimberley as the South African school of mines. Only 8 years later was it moved to Johannesburg. The university is rich in culture, art, museums and heritage.

www.wits.ac.za/

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

The University of South Africa is also referred to as UNISA. This university was founded in 1873. It is based in Pretoria. There are approximately 330 000 students locally and internationally. It is one of the world’s mega universities. This is the largest university in Africa and one third of tertiary education students study at UNISA. This university is an open distance learning institution. This means that students have support from the university but there are no formal lectures offered.

www.unisa.ac.za

Western Cape

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

The University of Cape Town is also referred to as Ikeys or UCT. This is the oldest university in South Africa. It was founded in 1829 and has approximately 24 500 students. This university is based in Cape Town. The University of Cape Town has the highest ranking of universities in the country. The term Ikeys originated in the 1920’s by the students of Stellenbosch University as an Anti-Semitic aphitet because of the belief that there were supposedly a large number of Jewish students at UCT. Stellenbosch University is UCT’s traditional rugby rival.

www.uct.ac.za

UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE

The University of the Western Cape is also referred to as UWC. This university was initially established in 1960 by the South African Government for the coloured people only. The university started with a modest 166 students. It now has approximately 15 300 students. The university is based in Bellville. Today, this university is multi-cultural and integrated. In fact it is one of the most diverse universities in the country.

www.uwc.ac.za/

UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH

The University of Stellenbosch is also referred to as Maties or Stellies. This university was founded in 1866 and has approximately 27 900 students. Stellenbosch is a unique town as it is a university town with a population of approximately 90 000. The sights around the university are beautiful. It is surrounded by picturesque mountains. Many influential leaders in South African History attended Maties. Danie Craven, Jan Smuts and Casper de Vries to name a few.

www.sun.ac.za/

Eastern Cape

UNIVERSITY OF FORT HARE

The University of Fort Hare is also referred to as UFH. This university was founded in 1916 and was initially established as a key university for the higher education of black Africans from 1916 to 1959. The university has approximately 11 500 students. This university is based in Alice. Nelson Mandela attended this university before being expelled. He then later graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand. Famous South Africans who attended this university include, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Desmond Tutu and Chris Hani

www.ufh.ac.za

RHODES UNIVERSITY

Rhodes University is also referred to as RU. This university was founded in 1904 and was named after Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes University is based in Grahamstown. This university has approximately 7 000 students. This university is known for the phrases “oppidans” and “digs”. Oppidans being the students who do not live on campus and digs being off campus residences.

www.ru.ac.za/

NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is also referred to as Madibaz or NMMU. This university was founded in 2005 but its history can be traced back to 1882. This university is based in Port Elizabeth and has approximately 23 000 students. This is the only university in the country which is situated on a nature reserve. The university also offers game drives.

www.nmmu.ac.za

WALTER SISULU UNIVERSITY

Walter Sisulu University is also referred to as WSU. This university was established in 2005 as a result of a merger between Border Technikon, Eastern Cape Technikon and University of Transkei. It has approximately 22 000 students. This university is named after a leader in the struggle against apartheid.

www.wsu.ac.za

Northern Cape

No Universities available at the moment.

Limpopo

UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO

The University of the Limpopo is also referred to as Turfloop.. This university was founded in 2005 and has approximately 20 600 students. This university is based in Polokwane. This university was the result of the merger between the University of the North and MEDUNSA. MEDUNSA is the medical university of South Africa.

www.ul.ac.za

UNIVERSITY OF VENDA

The University of Venda is also referred to as Univen. This university was founded in 1982. The university is located in Thohoyandou and has approximately 11 000 students. This university was initially established to educate the people of the Venda Bantustan.

www.univen.ac.za

Mpumalanga

No Universities available at the moment.

North West

NORTH WEST UNIVERSITY

North West University is also referred to as NWU, Pukke or Potch. This university was recently merged in 2004. The Potchefstroom campus which was founded in 1869 is where the head office of this university is situated. This university has approximately 44 000 students. The student lifein Potchefstroom is arguably one of the best lives a student can live in South Africa. There is a vibrant nightlife with many activities which can be done.

www.nwu.ac.za

Kwazulu Natal

UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL

The University of the KwaZulu-Natal is also referred to as UKZN. This university was founded in 2004 and has approximately 38 000 students. This university is based in Durban/Pietermaritzburg and Pinetown. This university was the result of a merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban- Westville.

www.ukzn.ac.za

UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND

The University of Zululand is also referred to as UniZulu. This university was formed in 1960 and has approximately 6 900 students. The university is based in Mhlathuze. This university catered mainly for the Zulu and Swazi people. This university has established partnerships with many institutions abroad, including University of Mississippi, Radford University and Chicago State university to name a few.

www.uzulu.ac.za

Free State

UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE

The University of the Free State is also referred to as Kovsies or UFS. This university was founded in 1904 and has approximately 26 500 students. This university is based in Bloemfontein. Hansie Cronje attended this university. An honorary doctorate was awarded to Oprah Winfrey from this university.

www.ufs.ac.za

UNIVERSITIES IN DIFFERENT PROVINCES OF SOUTH AFRICA