University of the Western Cape

Coordinates: 33°56′S 18°38′E / 33.933°S 18.633°E / -33.933; 18.633
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University of the Western Cape
Other names
Bush, uDubs
MottoLatin: Respice Prospice
Motto in English
"Look Ahead"
TypePublic university
Established1959; 65 years ago (1959)
Academic affiliations
ACU, CHEC, HESA, IAU
ChancellorThabo Makgoba
Vice-ChancellorTyrone Pretorius
Students23,000+ (2023) [1]
Undergraduates15,840
Postgraduates6,160
Location
Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville, Western Cape
,
South Africa
CampusUrban setting
MascotBushie
Websitewww.uwc.ac.za
Entry to Central campus from the west
View towards the main library
Circular interior of the main library

The University of the Western Cape (UWC; Afrikaans: Universiteit van Wes-Kaapland) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other universities in Cape Town are the University of Cape Town (originally for English-speaking whites), Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and Stellenbosch University (originally for Afrikaans-speaking whites). The establishing of UWC was a direct effect of the Extension of University Education Act, 1959. This law accomplished the segregation of higher education in South Africa. Coloured students were only allowed at a few non-white universities. In this period, other "ethnical" universities, such as the University of Zululand and the University of the North, were founded as well. Since well before the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, it has been an integrated and multiracial institution.

History[edit]

Early days[edit]

UWC started as a "bush college", a university college without autonomy under the auspices of the University of South Africa. The university offered a limited training for lower-to-middle-level positions in schools and the civil service. In the first years of its existence, a great deal of the teaching staff was white. Many of the lecturers came from Stellenbosch University. The language in most lectures was Afrikaans. The first rector was N. J. Sieberhagen (from 1960 until 1973). The university started as a small institution: in the first year, 166 students were enrolled and the teaching staff numbered 17. In 1970, the institution gained university status and was able to award its own degrees and diplomas.[2]

Resistance against apartheid[edit]

During the first 15 years, the board and staff were primarily whites, supporting the National Party and apartheid. One of the few exceptions was Adam Small, head of the philosophy department. Small was dismissed in 1973 as a consequence of his involvement in the Black Consciousness Movement.[citation needed] Apart from lecturers like Small, there were many students who were active in the struggle against apartheid, and who were loyal to the Black Consciousness Movement. Protests from students against the conservative university board and lack of participation in the university led to the appointment of the first coloured rector, Richard E. van der Ross in 1975.[citation needed] The years thereafter gave way to a more liberal atmosphere, in which the university gradually distanced itself from apartheid. In 1982, the university rejected the apartheid ideology formally in its mission statement; during the next year, the university gained the same autonomy as white universities through the University of the Western Cape Act.[citation needed]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, numerous UWC students were involved in the creation of Bush Radio, an anti-apartheid media project which distributed political and cultural radio programming via cassette tape due to the lack of a license to broadcast on a conventional radio platform. By 1993, the station went to air as a pirate radio station, and eventually became South Africa's first licensed community radio station.[3]

Rector Jakes Gerwel made UWC an "intellectual home of the left", with attention to social and political issues. The university attracted increasing numbers of students from disadvantaged communities. Apart from coloured people, more and more black students enrolled. Gerwel was succeeded in 1995 by Cecil Abrahams, who was succeeded by Brian O'Connell in 2001. UWC retained the status of an autonomous university during the education restructuring of 2002.

UWC is the only African institution that is a member of the OpenCourseWare Consortium (OCWC), and was voted onto the OCWC board in 2007.[citation needed]

Today[edit]

UWC is a research-rich environment. The academic staff is highly qualified, with 50% holding doctorates. Most departments have graduate programmes, some with the largest intake in the country. There are many institutes and centres with a strong research emphasis, and there are significant projects and programmes which draw on expertise across departments and faculties. There are also joint endeavours between the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, and Stellenbosch University. 20% of all students at UWC are postgraduates.

Like other South African universities, UWC has been affected by sporadic student protests since 2015. The reasons for the protests change with each new period of protest. They began with the Fees Must Fall movement[4] where the main goal was to get university fees to be state-funded and then grew to include issues surrounding student safety and accommodation. These protests often lead to the shutdown of academic activities at the university. Most recently academic activities were suspended from 5 February 2020 to 7 February 2020 due to a delay in financial clearance which left many students unable to register for the new year.[5]

International links[edit]

Research at UWC has an international dimension. UWC's major network of international partners ensures a flow of students and eminent scholars from other countries to enrich the environment. Some major projects are undertaken jointly with partners abroad. Many UWC scholars speak at international conferences and publish in internationally respected journals and books. And there is a strong and growing relationship with institutions in other countries in Africa, Europe and North America, leading to research partnerships, joint capacity building, and a flow of postgraduate students to UWC. In addition, UWC Honours and Master's graduates have won a number of major international scholarships. They have done well in doctoral programmes abroad.[6]

Ranking[edit]

See also: Rankings of universities in South Africa

In 2014, Webometrics ranked the university the sixth best in South Africa, seventh best in Africa and 885th in the world. Webometrics ranked both the university's Faculty of Law and Dentistry the best in Africa.[7]

University of the Western Cape World Ranking
UWC Times Higher Education Ranking 2016 to 2024
Year World Rank
2024 601–800
2023 601–800
2022 601–800
2021 601–800
2020 601–800
2019 601–800
2018 601–800
2017 601-800
2016 501-600
[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

Children's Rights Project[edit]

The Children's Rights Project is a South African organisation. Located in the Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, its goal is the recognition and protection of children's rights within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

Notable alumni[edit]

See also: Category:University of the Western Cape alumni

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "UWC at a Glance". University of the Western Cape. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  2. ^ "History". www.uwc.ac.za. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  3. ^ "The road to community radio". Rhodes Journalism Review, September 2004.
  4. ^ "Student protests continue at UWC | IOL News". Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Archived 24 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Police intervene in UWC campus protest". News24. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Research Development" Archived 10 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine, University of the Western Cape.
  7. ^ "Top Africa". Ranking Web of World Universities. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  8. ^ "World University Rankings 2024 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  9. ^ "World University Rankings 2023 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  10. ^ "World University Rankings 2022 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  11. ^ "World University Rankings 2021 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  12. ^ "World University Rankings 2020 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  13. ^ "World University Rankings 2019 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  14. ^ "World University Rankings 2018 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  15. ^ "World University Rankings 2017 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  16. ^ "World University Rankings 2016 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  17. ^ "World University Rankings 2015 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  18. ^ "World University Rankings 2014 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  19. ^ "World University Rankings 2013 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  20. ^ "World University Rankings 2012 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  21. ^ "World University Rankings 2011 (South Africa)". Times Higher Education (THE). 20 October 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  22. ^ "Profile of Kamanda Cos Bataringaya, Member of Parliament for Bwamba County, Bundibugyo District". Parliament of Uganda. 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  23. ^ "Former dissident, post-1989 politician Battěk dies". Namibian Sun. 5 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  24. ^ Rademeyer, Ronelle (8 October 2021). "Vurige kampvegter vir geregtigheid" [Fiery campaigner for justice]. Republikein (in Afrikaans). p. 5. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of the Western Cape.

33°56′S 18°38′E / 33.933°S 18.633°E / -33.933; 18.633

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