University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a public research university located in Bellville, in the City of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
The university was established in 1959 by the South African apartheid 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 the University of the Western Cape was a direct effect of the Apartheid-era 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, the University of the Western Cape has been an integrated and multiracial institution.
The University of the Western Cape is a research-led institution, responsive to the needs of a changing world through excellence in teaching, learning and research and the generation and application of new knowledge.
The University of the Western Cape is firmly anchored in its local and sub-regional context. It strives to build an equitable and dynamic society.
UWC is overseen by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) under the National Government of South Africa.
Overview
| Nicknames: | UWC, Bush, uDubs |
| Motto: | Look Ahead |
| Type: | Public University |
| Established: | 1959 |
| Chancellor: | Dr Thabo Makgoba (Archbishop) |
| Vice-Chancellor: | Prof Robert Balfour |
| Location: | Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa |
| Website: | www.uwc.ac.za |
Overseeing Department/Entity
Office Bearers/Management
Chancellor
- Dr Thabo Makgoba (Archbishop)
Vice Chancellor
- Prof Robert Balfour
Deputy Vice Chancellors
- Prof José Frantz (Research and Innovation)
- Prof Matete Madiba (Student Development and Support)
- Prof Monwabisi Knowledge Ralarala (Academic)
Registrar
- Dr Nita Lawton-Misra
Contact Details
The contact details of the University of the Western Cape are listed in the table below.
| Physical Address: | Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville, Cape Town, 7535 |
| Postal Address: | Private Bag X17, Bellville, 7535 |
| Telephone: | 021 959 3900 / 021 959 2911 |
| Email: | info@uwc.ac.za |
| Website: | www.uwc.ac.za |
