University of Cape Town, c.1958🦉
Founded in 1829 as the South African College, University of Cape Town is the oldest university in South Africa. The institution began as a boys high school with a small tertiary section. During the late 19th century, the discovery of diamonds and gold in southern Africa increased the demand for trained professionals in mining, engineering and science. This created the financial and academic conditions needed for the College to expand into a university.
Between 1880 and 1900, the College developed rapidly. New science laboratories were established, while the Departments of Mineralogy and Geology were introduced to support the country’s growing mining industry. Increased funding from private donors and the government strengthened the institution further.
One of the major developments of this period was the admission of women students. In 1886, Professor Paul Daniel Hahn persuaded the College Council to allow four women into his chemistry class on a trial basis. Their academic performance led to the permanent admission of women students in 1887, during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee year.
From 1902 to 1918, the institution expanded its academic scope through the establishment of the Medical School, engineering courses and a Department of Education. In 1918, the University of Cape Town was formally established as a university through the Alfred Beit bequest and further donations from mining figures Julius Wernher and Otto Beit. Public support from Cape Town residents and a significant state grant also contributed to its growth.
In 1928, the university moved most of its facilities to Groote Schuur on the slopes of Devil’s Peak. The land had been left to the nation by Cecil John Rhodes for the establishment of a national university. UCT celebrated its centenary at the new campus in 1929.
During the 20th century, UCT established itself as a major teaching and research institution. Between the 1960s and early 1990s, the university became known for its opposition to apartheid policies, particularly in higher education. This period earned the institution the nickname “Moscow on the Hill”.
UCT admitted its first small group of Black students in the 1920s, although numbers remained low for decades because of segregation and apartheid restrictions. From the 1980s onward, the university committed itself to institutional transformation. Black student enrolment increased significantly, and by 2004 nearly half of the student population was Black, while women made up just under half of all students.
The university’s academic structure developed into six faculties: Commerce, Engineering & the Built Environment, Health Sciences, Humanities, Law and Science. These are supported by the Centre for Higher Education Development, which focuses on teaching and learning support.
UCT has produced many notable graduates and academics, including Christiaan Barnard, who performed the world’s first successful human heart transplant. Alumni and former staff also include Nobel Prize winners Aaron Klug, Alan MacLeod Cormack and J. M. Coetzee.
Research remains a major part of the university’s work. UCT hosts more than 80 specialist research units and has a large concentration of South Africa’s A-rated researchers, academics recognised internationally in their fields.
A significant moment in the university’s recent history occurred in 2015 with the removal of the statue of Cecil John Rhodes from the upper campus. The statue, erected in 1934, became the focus of student protests and wider debates about colonialism, race and transformation in South Africa. Following weeks of demonstrations, the statue was removed. A separate statue of Rhodes remains in the Company’s Garden in Cape Town.
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