Faculties | Postgraduate Hub

UCT offers postgraduate diplomas and degrees from six faculties. There are also highly sought-after postgraduate courses offered by the Graduate School of Business (GSB) and the Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking (d-school).

Some degree programmes are run across more than one faculty (such as Environmental & Geographical Sciences). Students are welcome to approach faculties directly for information about their postgraduate degree programmes.

There are over 40 accredited research groups and university research institutes at UCT which you can contact directly depending on your research interests. There are also a number of schools contained within the faculties at UCT, such as the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance and the Graduate School of Business.

Faculty of commerce
If the rapidly changing world of business and public management captivates you, a postgraduate diploma, honours, masters or PhD degree from the faculty of commerce will get you there.

Courses prepare students for the workplace in the fast-paced global economy. Qualifications are supported by international agencies, and drive engagement with the African continent.

The faculty of commerce has seven departments:
More information on postgraduate courses from this faculty can be found here.
Faculty of engineering and the built environment
Postgraduate students in the faculty of engineering and the built environment (EBE) tackle the most urgent challenges in Africa and globally. These include energy technology, water scarcity and sustainable urbanisation.

The faculty has state-of-the-art facilities and produces internationally recognised research. Postgraduate students go on to play a major role in developing creative and innovative solutions which contribute to building a sustainable future for Africa and beyond.

The faculty of engineering and the built environment has six departments:
More information on postgraduate courses from this faculty can be found here.
Faculty of health sciences
UCT’s faculty of health sciences is the top ranked health sciences faculty in Africa. It is renowned for its ground-breaking research and advances in healthcare that are improving lives worldwide.

The world’s first successful heart transplant, and research that led to the development of the CT scan happened here.

The faculty of health sciences has 13 departments:
More information on postgraduate courses from this faculty can be found here.
Faculty of humanities
The dynamic faculty of humanities is home to students from 43 countries. This stimulates diversity of knowledge and experience. The humanities departments fall into three categories: the arts, social sciences, and creative and performing arts.

Postgraduate students from this faculty progress to take on meaningful professions. They join world-renowned and well-respected composers, singers, art directors, literary critics, novelists, poets, and teachers. National policymakers, advisors to government, economists and social science researchers have also graduated from this faculty.

The faculty of humanities has 17 departments:
More information on postgraduate courses from this faculty can be found here.
Faculty of law
UCT’s faculty of law is ranked in the top 100 law schools worldwide. It has over 25 international agreements that support students on international exchanges.

It is the oldest law school in Africa and the academic staff are among South Africa’s leading public intellectuals and critical thinkers.

Postgraduate law students from UCT have excellent career prospects in the corporate, government or non-profit sector.

The faculty of law has three departments:
More information on postgraduate courses from this faculty can be found here.
Faculty of science
Teaching and research from the faculty of science is internationally acclaimed. Two alumni from the Department of physics have even won Nobel prizes.

The faculty spearheads ground-breaking, globally relevant research. More than 25% of the publication output from UCT comes from the faculty of science. Over 80% of the faculty’s staff are rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF).

The faculty of science has 12 departments:
More information on postgraduate courses from this faculty can be found here.
Graduate school of business
Aimed at those with previous work experience, UCT’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) offers the highest ranked Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Africa.

The GSB is internationally recognised but has a strong focus on the emerging market. Research is directed at building a more equitable, economically prosperous and integrated continent.

It is one of just three triple-crowned business schools in Africa, with endorsements from the Association of MBAs (AMBA), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the European Foundation for Management Development (EQUIS).

The GSB offers the following postgraduate programmes:
Find out more about the courses offered at the GSB here. Please note that all GSB students are registered through the Commerce Faculty and degrees are issued through the Commerce Faculty.
Hasso Plattner school of design thinking (d-school)

The d-school at UCT is one of only three d-schools in the world. The others are at Stanford University (USA) and the University of Potsdam (Germany). The focus is on design-thinking to understand and solve complex challenges.

The Foundation programme runs for two days a week over the course of 12 weeks and is open to professionals and postgraduate students from all disciplines.

Find out more on the courses offered by the d-school here.