The Institution of Cape Town (UCT) is a South African public research university located in Cape Town. It began as the South African College in 1829 and was elevated to the status of a complete university in 1918, making it both the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest institution in Sub-Saharan Africa that is still actively functioning.
UCT is structured into 57 departments that are spread over six faculties, and it only confers degrees ranging from bachelor's (NQF 7) to doctorate (NQF 10) in the English language.
It stretches over six campuses in the Cape Town areas of Rondebosch, Hiddingh, Observatory, Mowbray, and the Waterfront and is home to 30,000 students.
The Statute of the University of Cape Town, which was issued in 2002 in accordance with the Higher Education Act, outlines the institution's structure and roles, despite the fact that UCT was established by a private act of Parliament in 1918.
A thriving student community that includes more than one hundred different organisations and clubs caters to a wide variety of interests, including spirituality, politics, culture, community service, and athletics. The Varsity Cup is one of the national leagues in which UCT competes significantly; however, this is not the only national league that UCT competes in. The term "Ikeys," which was initially an anti-Semitic pejorative for students of the institution, originated as a result of the long academic, sports, and political rivalry between Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town (UCT).
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is consistently ranked as the highest-ranked university in Africa in the QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. The university has been given the nickname "Harvard of Africa." Its Faculties of Business, Law, and Medicine are routinely ranked among the top one hundred educational institutions in the world. It is the only university from Africa to be included in the Globe Economic Forum's Global University Leaders Forum (GULF), which is comprised of 26 of the most prestigious institutions from across the world.
There have been five individuals connected to the University of Cape Town (UCT) who have been awarded the Nobel Prize. According to the National Research Foundation of South Africa, there are almost thirty percent of the country's total A-rated researchers working at UCT. This is the most prestigious ranking that is possible in the NRF rating classification scheme, and it is awarded to researchers who are unquestionably recognised by their peers as leading international scholars in their field for the high quality and impact of their recent research outputs. As of March 2020, there are thirty-five UCT staff members who have received this honour, which is almost thirty percent of the national total The workforce of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa consists of 88 individuals in total.