Douglas Olsen
South Africa's universities accommodate over 1 million students, with 25 of the 26 universities having a combined total of over 622,000 students. The University of South Africa (Unisa), located in Pretoria, is the largest university in Africa, with over 400,000 students. Pretoria, known as the executive and de facto national capital of South Africa, is one of the country's leading academic cities, with other notable universities including the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo. South African universities have some of the lowest admission rates, with only around 570,000 students passing the NSC final exams out of 900,000 participants, while universities have approximately 140,000 spaces for first-year students.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | University of South Africa (Unisa) |
| Number of Students | 300,000+ |
| Year of Establishment | 1873 |
| Location | Pretoria |
| Courses Offered | Vocational and Academic |
| Notable Alumni | Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu |
| Ranking | One of the world's "mega-universities" |
| Campuses | 7 regional centres across 9 provinces |
| Policy | Zero tolerance for academic dishonesty |
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What You'll Learn
University of South Africa (Unisa) is the largest, with 400,000 students
South Africa has 26 universities in total, accommodating over 1 million students. The University of South Africa (Unisa) is the largest, with 400,000 students. It is also the biggest tertiary institution in South Africa and one of the world's "mega-universities".
The University of South Africa was founded in 1873 as the University of the Cape of Good Hope. For much of its early history, it served as an examining agency for Oxford and Cambridge universities and as an incubator for most of South Africa's other universities. Today, it offers a wide range of vocational and academic programs, as well as distance education, serving over 300,000 students worldwide each year. The university has seven regional centres across South Africa, servicing students in all nine provinces.
Unisa is known for its versatile teaching approaches, providing online and distance courses, and high-quality education. It has embraced digital transformation, facilitating high scientific research output, and enhancing course implementation through multiple strategic partnerships. The university has an extensive geographical footprint, providing its students with recognition and employability in many countries. The qualifications offered by its College of Science, Engineering and Technology are accredited internationally through the Engineering Council of South Africa under the Dublin and Sydney Accords.
Unisa has a zero-tolerance policy for any form of academic dishonesty or cheating activity related to assessments and exams. Students found guilty face severe consequences, including module cancellation, mark withdrawal, and up to five years of suspension from the university and all universities in South Africa.
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University of Pretoria has over 50,000 students
South Africa has 26 universities in total, accommodating over 1 million students. The University of South Africa (Unisa) is the largest university in Africa, with over 400,000 students. Unisa is located in Pretoria, which is one of the country's leading academic cities.
The University of Pretoria, also located in Pretoria, has over 50,000 students. The university was founded in Kimberley in 1896 as the South African School of Mines. In 1904, it moved to Johannesburg and was renamed the Transvaal Technical Institute. The university changed its name again in 1906 to the Transvaal University College, and in 1908, a new campus of the college was established in Pretoria. The Johannesburg and Pretoria campuses separated in 1910, becoming two distinct institutions. The University of Pretoria has since become one of the leading higher education institutions on the continent.
The University of Pretoria's colloquial name is "Tuks" or "Tukkies," derived from the acronym of the Transvaal University College, "TUC." The university started with 32 enrolled students, four professors, and three lecturers. Today, it offers a wide range of academic and research opportunities, contributing significantly to the country's developmental goals.
Pretoria is also home to other notable universities, including the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), which is the largest residential higher education institution in South Africa. Pretoria's Sunnyside campus is the main hub of student activity, and the city also houses the largest research and development organization in Africa, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
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Rhodes University has over 7,000 students
South Africa has 26 universities in total, accommodating over 1 million students. The University of South Africa (Unisa) is the largest university in the country, with 400,000 students.
Rhodes University, established in 1904, is a small, highly residential university. It is the sixth oldest South African university in continuous operation. The university had an enrollment of over 8,000 students in the 2015 academic year, with just over 3,600 living in 51 residences on campus. The rest, known as Oppidans, lived in off-campus residences or in their own homes in the town. In 2009, the humanities faculty, the largest in the university, enrolled 2,669 students, accounting for 40% of the student intake. Rhodes University also admitted 1,592 students in 2012.
The university's name references Cecil Rhodes, a British businessman who heavily aided British imperial interests in South Africa. This led to controversy in 2015, with protests held by Rhodes Must Fall leading to the removal of a statue of Rhodes at the University of Cape Town. The Rhodes University Council voted to keep the existing name in 2017, despite critics arguing that Cecil Rhodes was a white supremacist.
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University of Cape Town has 18% international students
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the oldest university in South Africa, having been established in 1829 as the South African College and granted full university status in 1918. UCT is organised into 57 departments across six faculties, offering bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in a range of fields, including biology, medicine, liberal arts, social sciences, environmental science, chemistry, engineering, physics, computer science, political science, and geography. The University of Cape Town is home to 30,000 students, encompassing six campuses in the Capetonian suburbs of Rondebosch, Hiddingh, Observatory, Mowbray, and the Waterfront.
UCT has a rich history and is known for its architectural heritage, with the highest density of Cape Dutch-style buildings in the world. The university also has a strong research focus, with 95,695 scientific papers published and 2,920,600 citations received. The university's sports teams, particularly the rugby union team, are known as the "Ikey Tigers" or simply the "Ikeys". The nickname "Ikey" originated in the 1910s as an antisemitic epithet applied to UCT students by students of Stellenbosch University due to the large number of Jewish students at UCT.
UCT has a diverse student population, with 18% of its students being international. The university is a member of several prestigious academic associations, including the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), the Association of African Universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU). The university has produced numerous notable alumni, including five Nobel Prize winners, ministers in the Cabinet of South Africa, entrepreneurs, writers, surgeons, activists, and judges.
The University of Cape Town is highly regarded academically, achieving rankings such as 198 in the 2019 QS World University Rankings and 156 in the 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The faculty of Commerce, as well as the faculties of Law and Medicine, have appeared in the top 100 faculties internationally. The law faculty, in particular, achieved a global rank of 40 in the 2014 QS World University Rankings by Subject.
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South Africa has 26 universities in total
South Africa's universities are divided into three categories: universities of technology, comprehensive universities, and traditional universities. There are 9 universities of technology, which offer vocationally-oriented education. Comprehensive universities make up the second category, with 6 institutions offering a combination of academic and vocational qualifications. The third category, traditional universities, consists of 11 institutions that offer theoretically-oriented university degrees.
South Africa's universities are renowned for their quality education and research opportunities. The country's oldest city, Cape Town, is home to three universities, while Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, and Durban each have multiple universities as well. The University of Johannesburg, for example, offers both technical and academic programs to around 50,000 students across five different campuses.
South African universities have some of the lowest admission rates, with factors such as NSC results, standardized test scores, and demographic information playing a role in admissions decisions. The country's universities offer multicultural student communities, good academic facilities, social activities, and support systems for international students. They also often provide community volunteering schemes, allowing students to get involved in local development.
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Frequently asked questions
The University of South Africa (Unisa) is the largest university in Africa, with over 400,000 students.
The University of South Africa offers a large range of vocational and academic programs, as well as distance education.
The University of South Africa is located in Pretoria, with campuses in Sunnyside, Florida, and seven other regional centres across South Africa.
The University of South Africa is known for its versatile teaching approaches, providing online and distance education. It also has a large geographical footprint, with international recognition and employability for its students. Notable alumni include Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
