Stellenbosch University

Stellenbosch University is a premier African learning institution that is committed to meeting the challenges and discovering the solutions that influence and impacts the world around us for the better. Our vision is to be Africa’s leading research-intensive university, globally recognized as excellent, inclusive and innovative, where we advance knowledge in service of society.

We are guided by this ambition and invite our students on a journey to move forward together to create an inclusive environment that acknowledges our role in South Africa’s past but encourages all to join in making a better future. This community of global citizens is connected through curiosity and contributes to a transformative experience where students and faculty staff grow and develop together.  

Our research output has doubled in the past decade and our University boasts more Centers of Excellence than any other in South Africa. We are extremely proud of these achievements, especially as they come within the context of having a societal, continental and global impact.

We have grown from our foundational four faculties (Arts, Science, Education and Agriculture), 503 students and 40 lecturing staff in 1918 in the town of Stellenbosch to a thriving university for 32 225 students who are guided by 3 400 academic and professional staff across five campuses and 10 faculties.

FACULTIES AT STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY

• Faculty of AgriSciences
• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
• Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
• Faculty of Education
• Faculty of Engineering
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
• Faculty of Military Science
• Faculty of Science
• Faculty of Theology

STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES

• Stellenbosch

Our main administrative center houses eight faculties, two concert halls, a 430-seat theatre and 31 student residences.

• Tygerberg Campus

The Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences encompasses Tygerberg Academic Hospital and features a clinical building, laboratories, medical library and five student residences.

• Bellville Park

The home of the Stellenbosch Business School, Small Business Academy and the hub for our part-time studies division.

• Worcester Campus

The newest of our five campuses houses our Ukwanda Rural Clinical School to introduce students to healthcare in rural South Africa.

• Saldanha Campus

This forms part of the South African Military Academy and is home to our Faculty of Military Science, offering advanced instruction to future military leaders.

Stellenbosch University has a vibrant and cosmopolitan community representing over 100 countries and a partnership network of over 300 institutions, faculties and departments in 64 countries across five continents. We will continue to nurture these important relationships but are making an intentional shift towards more collaboration in the Global South to enhance our engagement in solutions for local problems.

Our learning-centered approach places students as co-creators of knowledge to encourage more engaged, networked and collaborative learning that sparks intellectual inquisitiveness – an essential skill for sustained critical and creative thinking. This approach synchronizes with our socially relevant academic programs to produce world-class graduates who are ready and able to make a difference.

We have invested in technology to enhance the virtual mobility of geographically dispersed students to broaden their participation in our academic offering. Our core mode of delivery remains classroom-based, face-to-face teaching that is augmented by our SUNLearn management system, highspeed Wi-Fi in lecture halls and livestreaming. This hybrid approach allows our students the flexibility to benefit from the community experience of in-person learning and still be included when not able to physically attend.We are committed to delivering a transformative student experience. It is a journey – from our first contact with prospective students until they graduate and embrace the role of alumni. We provide growth opportunities to all students, undergraduate and postgraduate alike, including guidance, support and services to help them succeed. Our student mentor program facilitates and guides first-year students to find their space in the larger University community of clusters and residences. Adjusting to a new home, a new environment and a new community on top of starting a new academic career can be stressful.

A world-class sport program provides more opportunities to build relationships and we encourage an active lifestyle among students and staff for personal wellbeing.

Maties (as we call ourselves) sport has a long and proud tradition with our 14 000-seat Danie Craven stadium setting the stage for many famous victories on the field across many codes. Our Coetzenburg Sports Complex is the neural core of operations for all sporting codes and houses the Maties Sport High Performance Unit where we are constantly advancing athletic achievement through evidence-based intervention programs and professional services.  

Our student societies constitute the largest and most diverse component of on-campus activity with cultural activities contributing to social cohesion and encouraging inclusivity.

Stellenbosch University established a Knowledge Directory to open our expertise to the world and enable potential research and industry partners to search for our own experts and promote interdisciplinary networking among our researchers. Several of our divisions collaborated to develop this tool, which contains links to the research publications and researcher biographies.

We embrace the change that happens around us by allowing it to shape our research and learning. Taking up this active role in the international arena comes with the responsibility of nurturing diversity and inviting contributions from all sections of society. We have established our Language Centre to provide students and staff with a range of academic and social support to promote multilingualism without exclusion and help bridge the communication gap that can impact collaboration.  

Our goal is wider implementation of parallel-medium instruction and interpretation to enable students to study in the language of their choice and we promote a multilingual mindset that feeds into our vision of ensuring accessibility to qualifying students from all backgrounds.

Stellenbosch University pursues excellence that comes from providing growth opportunities to all people. We are dedicated to building learning communities that inspire vibrance and connects people across the most diverse societal spectrum and fields of knowledge, to create bold new possibilities for the collective good of all humans.

FROM STELLENBOSCH TO THE GLOBE

Prof Hester C Klopper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Strategy, Global and Corporate Affairs (SGCA), leads the portfolio (SGCA) that enhances our engagements across the globe. Our broad partnership network comprises some 300 international collaborations worldwide. While we continue nurturing our existing partners, we are also making an intentional shift towards more collaboration in the global south, particularly with fellow African and BRICS countries.

On the African continent, we continue to take part in various African consortia and initiatives. These include Periperi U (aimed at disaster risk reduction and management), the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), the Partnership for Africa’s Next Generation of Academics (PANGeA) and NEPAD-supported initiatives.

In Europe we have partnerships with 193 institutions in 23 countries; Asia and Pacific: 45 institutions in 12 countries; North America: 35 institutions in three countries; Africa: 33 institutions in 22 countries; South America: 11 institutions in four countries.