University Of Cape Town
UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College which was originally a high school for boys. The College had a small facility for tertiary education that grew after 1880. When gold was discovered on the Reef and diamonds in Kimberley the demand for graduates with mining knowledge and skills grew. This need also provided the financial boost the institution needed to grow. Funding came from Private Sources and the Government. During the late 19th Century the college expanded and it built its first dedicated Science Laboratories. It also started the Departments of Mineralogy and Geology to train skilled personnel, for the Country’s emerging Diamond and Gold-Mining Industries.
In 1886 the Professor of Chemistry, Paul Daniel Hahn, persuaded the Council to admit 4 women into his class. This was to be on a trial basis on a trial basis. The women excelled and the college decided they would admit female students going forward in honour of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1887.
The medical school and a department of education were introduced along with engineering courses between 1902 and 1918.
UCT was formally granted university status in 1918. Substantial financial donations were bestowed by Mining Magnates; Julius Wernher and Otto Beit. It also qualified for a state grant. This made it South Africa’s first university. The university then moved to the present magnificent buildings on the slopes of Devil’s Peak on land bestowed by Cecil John Rhodes.
The first group of black students were admitted in the 1920s but the percentage of black students increased in the 1980s when it grew by roughly 35%. By 2004 half the 20,000 students were coloured or black and about half were female.
There are 6 main faculties at UCT Commerce, Engineering, Law, Health Sciences, Humanities, and Science. Today UCT is a public research university. It has more than 80 specialist Research Units that provide supervision for postgraduate work.
Geolocation -33° 57′ 25.2″, 18° 27′ 32.4″
