University of Cape Town

About The University
Welcome to the University of Cape Town. This website is designed to give you an overview of life and work at UCT. Founded in 1829 UCT has a proud tradition of academic excellence and effecting social change and development through its pioneering scholarship, faculty and students.It is also renowned for its striking beauty, with its campus located at the foot of Table Mountain's Devil's Peak, with panoramic views of much of Cape Town.

UCT is very similar to the city of Cape Town: it has a vibrant, cosmopolitan community. It is a cultural melting pot where each person contributes their unique blend of knowledge and thinking. Our staff and students come from over 100 countries in Africa and the rest of the world. The university has also built links, partnerships and exchange agreements with leading African and international institutions that further enrich the academic, social and cultural diversity of our campus.

This heritage characterises the experience of studying at UCT, where our students are introduced to a life of leadership and service through social engagement. They also have the opportunity to hone their leadership skills by participating in the over 100 clubs and societies on campus, as well as in student governance.

As a university we are committed to producing graduates who are not only well-educated, but also mindful of the responsibilities of democratic citizenship. This is important as higher education in general has a duty to develop an educated and thoughtful citizenry, which is a critical element of a successful democracy. This is the basis upon which UCT makes its most profound contribution to the development and transformation of our society.

UCT reputation for excellence is underpinned by its distinctive research, led by its distinguished faculty, many of whom are world-leaders in their field. Our researchers also teach and so ensure that our undergraduate and postgraduate students benefit directly from the latest scholarly work and discoveries.

Universities have the unique opportunity to influence the future of our society by educating and shaping the future leaders of the country - both in business and government. Our reputation as a leading research and teaching university is also embodied by the quality of our alumni, many of whom continue to make outstanding contributions to society.

Please browse freely through these web pages for information on all aspects of the university. You may also look at our that capture the highlights of life at UCT.

UCT aspires to become a premier academic meeting point between South Africa, the rest of Africa and the world. Taking advantage of expanding global networks and our distinct vantage point in Africa, we are committed, through innovative research and scholarship, to grapple with the key issues of our natural and social worlds. We aim to produce graduates whose qualifications are internationally recognised and locally applicable, underpinned by values of engaged citizenship and social justice. UCT will promote diversity and transformation within our institution and beyond, including growing the next generation of academics.

Foundation statement underpinning the mission statement
Our research-led identity is shaped by a commitment to:

• academic freedom as the prerequisite to fostering intellectual debate and free inquiry;
• ensuring that research informs all our activities including teaching, learning and service to the community;
• advancing and disseminating knowledge that addresses the key challenges facing society - South African, continental and global;
• protecting curiosity driven research
• nurturing and valuing creativity in the sciences and arts including the performing and creative arts;
• stimulating international linkages of researchers and research groupings.

We strive to provide a superior quality educational experience for undergraduate and postgraduate students through:

• providing an intellectually and socially stimulating environment;
• inspired and dedicated teaching and learning;
• exposure to the excitement of creating new knowledge;
• stimulating the love of lifelong learning;
• the cultivation of competencies for global citizenship;
• supporting programmes that stimulate the social consciousness of students;
• offering access to courses outside the conventional curricula;
• attracting a culturally and internationally diverse community of scholars;
• guaranteeing internationally competitive qualifications;
• offering a rich array of social, cultural, sporting and leadership opportunities;
• providing an enabling physical and operational environment.

In advancing UCT as an Afropolitan university, we will:

• expand our expertise on Africa and offer it to the world;
• extend our networks on the continent, along with our global connections and partnerships;
• promote student and staff exchanges and collaborative research and postgraduate programmes;
• engage critically with Africa's intellectuals and world views in teaching and research;
• contribute to strengthening higher education on our continent.

We strive to provide an environment for our diverse student and staff community that:

• promotes a more equitable and non-racial society;
• supports redress in regard to past injustices;
• is affirming and inclusive of all staff and students and promotes diversity in demographics, skills and backgrounds;
• offers individual development opportunities to all staff;
• is welcoming as a meeting space for scholars from Africa and around the world.
  

UCT Finance strives for a combination of good practice, stewardship and forward projection to provide the financial resources needed. Our financial aim is to provide for sustainable operations and the ability to invest in initiatives consistent with our mission.

Focus areas of UCT's financial plan

• Education encompasses the recurrent activities of teaching and scholarship.
• Research and similar operations that are specifically funded.
• Staff and student housing
• Investment income and financing expenditure
• Capital expenditure
• Capital structure and financing
• Cash-flow planning brings together the consequences of all the financial components above and provides a ready measure of the risk we face.

Financial Policy in Respect of Council-Controlled Funds
This policy is integral to University strategy and planning and should be understood in the context of the Overview of the Financial Governance, Structures and Processes of the University. See Downloads on right for both documents.

HEALTH SCIENCES
This week UCT brought together public health managers from across the country to share their own real-life experiences about how they are addressing challenges in the health care sector in South Africa. The Celebrating Innovative Health Management in the Public Sector Conference, hosted by the Faculty of Health Sciences in conjunction with the Oliver Tambo Fellowship Programme from 29 to 30 June, was timely, given a concern raised by National Minister of Health.

The Celebrating Innovative Health Management in the Public Sector Conference, hosted by the Faculty of Health Sciences in conjunction with the Oliver Tambo Fellowship Programme from 29 to 30 June, was timely, given a concern raised by National Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, expressed in his budget speech, that poor management is undermining the quality of care in the public sector.

More than 140 delegates from the public health sector, higher education institutions and NGOs engaged one another on topics such as efficiency and effectiveness in hospitals, how to overcome 'compassion fatigue', building healthy collegial networks, as well as recruitment, support and retention of rural health workers.

According to conference chair, Professor Lucy Gilson of UCT's School of Public Health and Family Medicine, this was a rare opportunity for health managers to share their experiences first hand. The event's aim was three-fold: to recognise the importance and value of health leadership and management, to promote the discussion of innovative experiences from which individual managers can learn, and to draw wider lessons about how to support sustained and effective leadership and management.

Research
Welcome to the UCT Libraries Research Commons web site. The Research Commons (RC) is one of three new facilities recently created by the institutions ̶ UCT, Wits, and UKZN ̶ participating in a joint project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Carnegie project aims to develop specialized facilities, shared technologies, and highly-trained professional librarians to increase library support for researchers at each institution.

The Research Commons has been designed as a scholarly common room for senior postgraduate students and academics. Situated in a secluded part of the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library, well away from the Libraries' busy public areas, it provides a peaceful atmosphere where researchers can access electronic resources, work on their articles or theses, relax in a comfortable lounge area, and informally interact with colleagues.

The Research Commons is located on level 6 of the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library, just above the Humanities Library, and is open to academic staff and postgraduate students at master's and doctoral level. Wheelchair access is via the lift from the Commerce or Humanities Libraries. Experienced library staff members are on hand to assist with users information needs and to arrange consultations with subject specialists as needed.

Facilities include high-end PCs, laptops, high-speed internet access, printer-copiers, and a scanner, as well as consultation rooms and a seminar room ... see our for more detail.

Graduate
Dr Catherine Kariuki, who recently completed her MMed in psychiatry at UCT, has won the Novartis Medal as the best clinical candidate in the 2010 College of Psychiatrists of South Africa part II exam. Kariuki received the award at a graduation ceremony in Johannesburg in May.

That made mom and dad - a nurse and a forensic-pathologist-turned-psychiatrist, respectively - very proud. As can be seen in the family portrait shot especially for the occasion.

The pull to medicine was strong for Kariuki. "I was always going to do medicine; I grew up watching Dad." she says. (Funnily enough, her father initially discouraged her from a career in medicine; it's a hard life, he cautioned.)

Kariuki now hopes to go into practice with her father. There's one hiccup, though - she resides and wants to stay in Cape Town, while he's based in Pretoria. But a compromise has been struck; she'll fly up for occasional locum work in his practice.

University of Cape Town Degree Programs :

Medicine

Video Presentation

LEAD - University of Cape Town 2012

LEAD - University of Cape Town 2012