Cape Town can be an interesting alternative to the United Kingdom or the United States if you're looking for a sunny place to study! With an English-speaking environment, superb quality of life, reasonable costs and a similar time zone to Europe, as long as you speak excellent English, Cape Town could be a fantastic option.
South Africa is home to some 30 universities and more than 100 private higher education schools. Cape Town and the Western Cape region have six public universities and 50 private graduate schools. We have listed those with the best reputation both nationally and internationally, making this a great place to start your search.
University of Cape Town
UCT or the University of Cape Town is the oldest university in South Africa. Created in 1829, it is public, but there are still fees, as is the case with all schools in South Africa. Registration fees are relatively reasonable from a western point of view but remain high for many local communities. This issue lies at the heart of frequent protests, regularly organised by students since 2015. Such actions can seriously complicate the overall functioning of the school. UCT remains the best university in the country and has risen to become the 156th largest university in the world, according to the Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2019.
The university has about 30,000 students, of which a little less than 20% comes from abroad to study. Eight areas of study are available: Commerce & Management, Management, Engineering & Ecology, Natural Sciences, Human Sciences, Law, Medicine (alumni include the famous Dr. Christiaan Barnard, who completed the world's first successful heart transplant in 1967), and finally Higher Education.
University of Stellenbosch
The University of Stellenbosch is the fourth-largest university in South Africa. As the name suggests, the university is located in the village of Stellenbosch, 50km from Cape Town, and was officially established in 1918. As the historical heart of the white Afrikaner community, teaching has long been exclusively conducted in Afrikaans here and remains the main language of the school. It has nevertheless opened a good part of its programs to English in recent years, allowing all students - local and international - to take exams in English. It now has 30,000 students in ten faculties, divided into 150 departments and 40 research centres, spread over four campuses: the main campus (Art & Social Sciences, Law, Theology, Education & Teaching, Economics, Agronomy and Engineering), the Faculty of Medicine, the School of Commerce and the Military Faculty. It also has a renowned music conservatory. Finally, it offers more than 6,000 students housing - an exception in the country in this regard. As this university is private, its tuition and tuition fees are much higher than UCT.
University of Western Cape
Finally, UWC or the University of Western Cape is the sixth university in the country, seventh in Africa and ranked 885th in the world. Located in the suburbs of Cape Town in Bellville, the university is known for the large number of citations from professors in research publications. It was created in 1959, in full apartheid, as the only alternative to the two universities mentioned above, then reserved to the White community. It now has more than 20,000 students, mainly from the middle and lower classes, and offers seven key areas of study: Art, Public Health, Dental, Economics & Management, Law, Education & Science, and finally Natural Sciences. The level is much lower than UCT and Stellenbosch, but it remains a strong option, with affordable tuition fees.
There are many private high schools in the Cape Town area which we cannot list here, but which can be found under this link. Just be aware that not all would be internationally recognised or renowned.
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