The Faculty of Humanities is the largest faculty at UCT with over 6000 undergraduate and postgraduate students each year. The faculty consists of 15 dynamic academic departments and three academic clusters: the Arts, Social Sciences and the Performing Arts. This diversity gives you the freedom of choice in tailoring your academic experience.

Humanities degrees are divided into two kinds:

1. the Structured programmes (Performing and Creative Arts, Social Work, etc) which offer a focused, vocational programme of study, and
2. the General Degrees, which are more flexible and which allow students to adapt their course choices to their interests and aptitudes.

In addition to the content offered by specific majors, any Humanities degree will equip you with skills in academic writing, reading, research and critical thinking and will encourage you to develop cultural and social awareness. In addition, we are part of a world-renowned research and training institution and a centre of excellence on the African Continent.

Humanities graduates are sought after in the domestic and foreign job market because of their research skills, critical thinking, adaptability, Insight, social awareness and imagination. We produce people who actively contribute to advancing knowledge horizons in the world. A Humanities degree can lead to professional careers such as: Policy Advisors, Educators, Psychologists, Film-makers, Historians, Curators, Editors and Publishers, Human Resources practitioners, Marketing and Brand specialists to name a few. You need only look at past and present captains of industry, leaders in the Private and Public sectors to see what our graduates achieve in the world.

You will have a chance to see a Curriculum Advisor at the end of the Orientation Programme and again during Registration. The Orientation Programme will provide you with detailed information about degree rules and structure which will enable you to select your courses.

We regret that, due to the large numbers of students registering at the beginning of each year, it is not possible to arrange individual consultations preceding Orientation.

You can apply online.

A prospectus is a brochure that provides prospective students with all of the information on the institution that they are applying to. You can find the current Undergraduate Prospectus on the main UCT website.

Should your application be successful, you will receive an official offer letter from UCT via email. You can also monitor the UCT self-service site.

Please visit the UCT fees pages for instructions on how to pay your application fee, and where to send proof of payment. Kindly note that the Faculty Office does not facilitate the payment of fees of any kind.

If you are currently in your matric year: if you fail to meet the admission requirements based on interim results, you will be informed that your application has been deferred pending the submission of improved marks or your final results.

If you have already completed your NSC: if you fail to meet the admission requirements you will receive a letter indicating that your application has been declined. We welcome applicants to retake select NSC subjects to improve their admission point scores.

A conditional offer is made to a candidate who has partly fulfilled the admission criteria for a selected degree programme. A conditional offer is not final and is in no way binding. It is subject to meeting the requirements for admission into the faculty.

If you receive a conditional offer from us, it is important that you maintain the same level of academic performance. A conditional offer becomes a firm offer when the final school exam results are released. Monitor the UCT self-service site for updates on your application status.

You are able to cancel your application at any stage by contacting us at hum-ugrad@uct.ac.za. Please remember to include your applicant number when submitting your request, and specify which application (or both) you would like to cancel .

Offers cannot be deferred. You may, however, request to defer your application reconsidered for the following year.

You are able to defer your application at any stage by contacting us at hum-ugrad@uct.ac.za. Please remember to include your applicant number when submitting your request.

In mid-January, prior to orientation, you will receive an SMS notification asking you to make a choice on the UCT self-service site. Your choice will be noted and your non-preferred programme offer will be cancelled automatically. 

No, the application to study at UCT and the application for housing are two separate applications. The application for studies would be processed by the Faculty Office and housing applications are processed by the Housing Office. Once an applicant has been made an offer, the Housing Office will process the application for residence but a place of study does not necessarily mean you would be granted housing as well.

UCT's application deadline for undergraduate applicants is 31 July of the preceding year.

You may contact the matriculation board to enquire about the requirements for an exemption, but the formal application to the matriculation board only needs to be submitted within the first year of studies at the University.

The contact details for the Matriculation Board of USAF are +27 010 591 4401/2 or visit the HESA website.

The faculty calculates international student's results according to the type of schooling they have completed by using a table to calculate the various scores. You may refer to this table in the Undergraduate Prospectus.

The South African Immigration regulations make it a requirement that international students studying in South Africa must have health insurance.

The Immigration Act of 2002 allows international students to work for a maximum of 20 hours per week during the academic term and full time during academic vacations. In order for international students to work in South Africa they need to obtain a "permission to work" letter from IAPO.

For IAPO to issue you with the letter, you will need to present the following:

1. a copy of your offer of employment from your prospective employer stipulating that you will not work more than 20 hours per week during term time,
2. a copy of your study visa valid for studies at UCT, and
3. proof of registration.

During the first week of February, IAPO runs a dedicated Orientation programme for new international, full degree students.

The Faculty of Humanities runs its own full Orientation programme for new students. You are strongly advised to attend both Orientation programmes as they will assist in your transition to UCT.

Please refer to the Fees and Payments page of the IAPO website.