University of Cape Town Courses 2025/2026
University of Cape Town Courses 2025/2026 – List of all Courses Offered at University of Cape Town.
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University of Cape Town Commerce Courses
Undergraduate Degrees Offered
- Bachelor of Business Science (BBusSc)
- Bachelor of Commerce (BCom)
Both degrees are divided into a variety of programmes to cater both for the interests of our students and the employment needs of the country. The first year in both degrees is more or less common, for two main reasons:
- All commerce graduates should have a solid academic foundation in a range of core subject areas: Accounting, Information Systems, Economics, Business Law, Mathematics, Statistics and Thinking About Business.
- We do not expect students new to university to finalise their degree or programme choices before being exposed to the disciplines at a tertiary level, so the more similar the programmes, the more flexibility students have to move around as they discover where their strengths and interests lie.
- Both degrees are offered in the standard format or as extended programmes to students who may have experienced gaps or disparities in their educational or life experience. The BBusSc is traditionally offered over four years, but is also available as an extended programme over five years (called the Education Development Unit or EDU). Similarly, the BCom is traditionally offered over three years, but is available as a four year programme (called the Education Development Unit or EDU). It is important to note that, whether you spend three, four or five years doing your degree, your Commerce degree certificate will be the same, except to stipulate whether you have graduated with a BCom or BBusSc degree and the area of specialisation of the degree.
The UCT Application Form will require you to select:
- Actuarial Science: BCom or BBusSc
- Mainstream
- Educational Development Unit
- All other Commerce UG degrees
- Mainstream
- Educational Development Unit
Honours/Masters/Doctoral degrees
The Faculty offers a range of degrees for students wishingto study further in a particular commerce discipline. Some of the degrees are offered on a part-time basis whilst others require full time study. Certain Masters degrees require coursework and/or internships in addition to the dissertation.
Professionally/vocationally directed postgraduate diplomas
Students with undergraduate degrees from Commerce AND other faculties may apply for Postgraduate Diplomas and Postgraduate Diplomas in Management. The Postgraduate Diplomas in Management currently offered are ideal for students wishing to pursue a career in Accounting, Information Systems, Actuarial Science or a variety of Management areas including Sport Management, Marketing, Tourism and Entrepreneurship.
University of Cape Town Engineering & the Built Environment (EBE) Courses
University of Cape Town Health Sciences Courses
- Radiation Medicine
University of Cape Town Humanities Courses
The Faculty of Humanities offers a wide variety of programmes in the Arts; Social Sciences and the Performing and Creative Arts. These include:
A. General Degrees
- Bachelor of Arts [BA]
- Bachelor of Social Sciences [BSocSci]
B. Structured Degrees
- Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art [BA9FA)]
- Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Performance [BA (TP)]
- Bachelor of Music [BMus]
- Bachelor of Social Science in Philosophy, Politics and Economics [BSocSc(PPE)]
- Bachelor of Social Work [(BSW)]
C. Extended Degrees
D. Degree Specialisations
- Bachelor of Arts specialising in Film and Media Production [BA]
E. Diplomas
- Diploma in Theatre and Performance [DTP]
- Diploma in Music Performance [DMP]
F. Higher Certificates
Higher Certificate in Adult and Community Education and Training
A. General Degrees:
General Degrees are suitable for students with a general interest in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, who wish to construct their own course of study rather than being committed to a prescribed set curriculum.
The Bachelor of Arts [BA] and Bachelor of Social Science [BSocSci] degrees offer a flexible degree structure spread over a minimum of three years of full-time study. These degrees require students to study at least two approved majors (i.e. a specialised study taken to third -ear level). While specific courses are required per major, outside the majors students have the freedom to choose from a wide range of courses as electives.
The general degree structure is also adaptable, in that students may change majors as they go along, based on their experience of their courses.
Students enrolling for a general degree will take at least 20 semester courses; of these, eight to ten semester courses will form part of two majors selected from the lists below.
| Bachelor of Arts majors | Bachelor of Social Science majors | Majors offered through other faculties** |
| African Languages & Literatures Afrikaans Arabic Language & Literature
Business French* Chinese Studies Classical Studies Dance
English Film & Television Studies French* German Hebrew Language & Literature History Italian Linguistics Media & Writing Music Portuguese Spanish Theatre & Dance Studies Visual and Art History Xhosa Communication | African Studies Anthropology Economics Gender Studies Industrial Sociology* Philosophy Politics and Governance Psychology Religious Studies Social Development Sociology* | Applied Biology Applied Mathematics Applied Statistics Archaeology Astrophysics Biochemistry Chemistry Computer Science Ecology & Evolution Environmental & Geographical Science Genetics Geology Human Physiology Informatics Law Marine Biology Mathematics Mathematical Statistics Ocean & Atmosphere Science Organisational Psychology Physics |
*Students will not be permitted to enrol for the following combinations of majors:
**Students can also choose one major from the list of majors offered by departments outside the Faculty, but must enrol for at least one major in either the Arts or Social Sciences. | ||
For more information on majors please see the Humanities Undergraduate Handbook.
Which general degree should you choose?:
- Students who select both majors from the list of Bachelor of Arts majors will register for a Bachelor of Arts degree.
- Students who select both majors from the list of Bachelor of Social Science majors will register for a Bachelor of Social Science degree.
- Students who select one major from each list will choose to register for either a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Social Science degree.
For more information on the Bachelor of Art and Bachelor of Social Science degrees, including admission requirements, please see the Undergraduate Prospectus.
B. Structured Degrees:
Structured Degree Programmes are special combinations of disciplines and courses which have been curricula to provide you with a particular knowledge and skills base. Every programme is made up of specific, pre-set courses for each year of study, and every year of study builds on the knowledge and skills developed during the previous year.
Structured Degrees are suitable for students with an interest in specific aspects of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences who wish to follow a structured course of study, are reasonably sure of their interests and willing to commit themselves to a tightly-structured curriculum.
| Structured Degrees in the Humanities |
| Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art [BA(FA)] |
| Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Performance [BA(T&P)] |
| Bachelor of Music [BMus] |
| Bachelor of Social Science in Philosophy, Politics and Economics [BSocSc(PPE)] |
| Bachelor of Social Work [BSW] |
| Department | Postgraduate specialisations |
| Gender Studies Section* Tel: 021 650 4207 Fax: 021 685 2142 Website: African Gender Institute | Hons in Gender and Transformation Research Masters in Gender Studies PhD in Gender Studies |
| African Studies Section* Tel: 021 650 2308 Fax: 021 650 3579 Website: Centre for African Studies | Postgraduate Diploma in African Studies Hons/Masters in African Studies Hons/Masters in Heritage and Public Culture Coursework Masters in African Studies Research Masters in African Studies MPhil in Environmental Humanities PhD in African Studies |
| Linguistics Section* Tel: 021 650 2847 Fax: 021 650 3150 | Hons/Masters in Linguistics Research Masters in Linguistics PhD in Linguistics |
| Anthropology Section* Tel: 021 650 3678 Fax: 021 650 2307 Website: Social Anthropology
*The above sections fall under the School of African and Gender Studies, Anthropology and Linguistics | Hons/Masters in Anthropology Masters in Environmental Humanities Masters in Practical Anthropology Research Masters in Social Anthropology PhD in Anthropology |
| Archaeology Tel: 021 650 2353 Fax: 021 650 2352 Website: Archaeology | Hons in Archaeology Hons in Archaeology & Environmental Science Research Masters in Archaeology PhD in Archaeology |
| Dance Tel: 021 650 2398 Fax: 021 650 2494 Website: Dance | Hons in Dance Studies Hons in Choreography Hons in Performance Masters in Dance by Choreography Masters in Dance by Performance & Dissertation Masters in Dance by Performance & Choreography Masters in Dance by Choreography & Dissertation Research Masters in Dance PhD in Dance |
| Drama Tel: 021 480 7121 Fax: 021 480 7106 Website: Drama | Hons in Drama Masters in Theatre and Performance Masters in Applied Drama and Theatre Studies MA in Dramaturgy MA in Television Production Research Masters in Drama PhD in Drama |
| Economics Tel: 021 650 2733 Fax: 021 650 2854 Website: Economics | Hons/Masters in Economics Masters in Applied Economics Masters in Health Economics Research Masters in Economics PhD in Economics |
| Education Tel: 021 650 2772 Fax: 021 650 3489 Website: Education | Advanced Certificate in Education Postgraduate Certificate in Education Bachelor of Education (Hons) Postgraduate Diploma in Education specialising in Higher Education Studies Postgraduate Diploma in Education specialising in Educational Technology Coursework Masters in: Adult Education Curriculum Studies Education Policy, Leadership and Change Higher Education Studies Language and Literacy Studies Mathematics Education Primary Education Science Education Research Masters in Education PhD in Education |
| English Language and Literature Tel: 021 650 2861 Fax: 021 650 3726 Website: English Literature | Hons in English Studies Masters in English in Literature and Modernity Masters in Creative Writing Research Masters in English Language and Literature PhD in English Language & Literature |
| Environmental and Geographical Science Tel: 021 650 2874 Fax: 021 650 3456 Website: Environmental & Geographical Science | Hons in Environmental and Geographical Studies Research Masters in Environmental and Geographical Studies PhD in Environmental and Geographical Studies |
| Film and Media Studies, Centre for Tel: 021 650 3373/2852 Fax: 021 650 2854 Website: Centre for Film and Media Studies | Hons in Film and Television Studies Hons/Masters in Media Theory and Practice Hons/Masters in Political Communication Masters in African Cinema Masters in Documentary Arts Research Masters in Rhetoric Studies Masters in Screenwriting Research Masters in Film Studies or Media Studies Research Masters in Rhetoric Studies PhD in Film Studies or Media Studies PhD in Rhetoric Studies |
| Fine Art, Michaelis School of Tel: 021 480 7103 Fax: 021 424 2889 Website: Michaelis School of Fine Art | Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art Hons in Curatorship Hons/Masters in Art Historical Studies MFA in Fine Art Research Masters in Fine Art PhD in Fine Art |
| Historical Studies Tel: 021 650 2742 Fax: 021 689 7581 Website: Historical Studies | Hons in Historical Studies Research Masters in Historical Studies PhD in Historical Studies |
| Information and Library Studies Tel: 021 650 3090 Fax: 021 650 4545 Website: Library and Information Studies | Postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Studies (named qualification) Master of Librarianship & Information Studies (named qualification) Research Masters in Library and Information Studies (named qualification) MPhil in Digital Curation |
| Languages and Literatures, School of Tel: 021 650 2607 Fax: 021 685 5530 Website: School of Languages and Literatures | Hons/Masters in African Languages and Literatures Hons/Masters in Afrikaans and Netherlandic Studies Hons/Masters in Applied Linguistics and African Language Hons/Masters in Classical Studies Hons/Masters in French, German, Greek, Italian or Latin Hons in Teaching French as a Foreign Language Hons in Spanish Hons in Arabic Research Masters in African Languages and Literatures, Afrikaans and Netherlandic Studies, Classical Studies, French, German, Greek, Italian or Latin PhD in African Languages and Literatures, Afrikaans and Netherlandic Studies, Classical Studies, French, German, Greek, Italian or Latin PhD in Jewish Studies PhD in Spanish |
| Management Studies, School of Tel: 021 650 3778 Fax: 021 689 7570 Website: School of Management Studies | Hons/Masters in Organisational Psychology PhD in Organisational Psychology (by dissertation only) |
| Music, South African College of Tel: 021 650 2626 Fax: 021 650 2627 Website: South African College of Music | Postgraduate Diploma in Music in Performance Hons in Musicology / Composition / Performance Research MMus MMus specialising in Performance and Dissertation MMus specialising in Composition and Dissertation MMus specialising in Coursework, Performance and Dissertation MMus specialising in Coursework and Dissertation PhD in Music |
| Philosophy Tel: 021 650 3316 Fax: 021 650 3316 Website: Philosophy | Hons/Masters in Philosophy Hons/Masters in Philosophy, Politics and Economics Research Masters in Philosophy PhD in Philosophy |
| Political Studies Tel: 021 650 5916 Fax: 021 689 7574 Website: Political Studies | Hons/Masters in: International Relations Public Policy and Administration Justice & Transformation Politics Research Masters in Political Studies PhD in Political Studies PhD in Public Administration |
| Psychology Tel: 021 650 3435 Fax: 021 650 4104 Website: Psychology | Hons in Psychology Masters in Psychological Research Masters in Clinical Psychology (named qualification) Masters in Neuropsychology (named qualification) Research Masters in Psychology PhD in Psychology |
| Public Law Tel: 021 650 3072 Fax: 021 650 3790 Website: Public Law | Hons in Criminal Justice Research Masters in Criminology PhD in Criminology |
| Religious Studies Tel: 021 650 5818 Fax: 021 689 7575 Website: Religious Studies | Hons/Masters in Religious Studies Research Masters in Religious Studies PhD in Religious Studies |
| Social Development Tel: 021 650 3493 Fax: 021 689 2739 Website: Social Development | Hons/Masters in: Probation and Correctional Practice Clinical Social Work Social Development Social Policy and Management Research Masters in Social Development Research Masters in Social Planning and Administration Research Masters in Social Work PhD in Social Development PhD in Social Work |
| Sociology Tel: 021 650 3501 Fax: 021 689 7576 Website: Sociology | Hons/Masters in: Development Studies Sociology Industrial Sociology Masters in Global Studies Research Masters in Industrial Sociology Research Masters in Sociology PhD in Sociology PhD in Industrial Sociology |
University of Cape Town Law Courses
Law Courses
The Law Faculty Handbook is jam-packed with detailed information on course offerings for the academic year. Each course is described, including the course code, course title, course level, the convenor’s name, entry requirements, DP requirements, and assessment mechanism. You will find everything you need in this handbook.
Course information is also available for undergraduate and postgraduate students at each of our three departmental sites at www.privatelaw.uct.ac.za and www.commerciallaw.uct.ac.za and www.publiclaw.uct.ac.za, so head over there for department-specific course listings.
One of the Faculty’s highlight courses is the Legal Practice Course (DOL 4500F/S), offered by the UCT Law Clinic – which provides students with insight into, and handson experience with, client case management.
The Legal Practice Course affords students the opportunity of receiving a full credit for community service, in fulfilment of the current LLB curriculum requirements. Many students taking final year courses may be interested in the Legal Practice elective, as an important course for every law student, particularly if you are intending to practice. For those not intending to practice, it is equally important in showing how justice works or does not in our country.
Many of our past students go on to do their articles and have confirmed how this course has helped them. Watch out for registration alerts towards the end of each year, for the following year’s enrolment. A fundamental function of the UCT Law Clinic is the excellent practical training it offers to senior law students through the Legal Practice Course (DOL 4500F/S).
University of Cape Town Science Courses
The Faculty offers a single undergraduate degree – the Bachelor of Science (BSc) which is typically a three year qualification leading to two majors. The courses offered that will lead to a major comprise a mixture of lectures, tutorials, practicals and field work, depending on the specific discipline. During the course of your studies you will thus gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of your chosen subjects. For those wanting a broader based education, Faculty rules permit a student to combine a major from another faculty with one from Science.
There are two routes to completing the BSc degree
Studies in the mathematical and scientific disciplines are challenging, and the pace of learning differs dramatically from high school. No-one likes to fail, and our experience shows that achieving success requires each student to choose the right courses and the right course load in each year – so that sufficient time is available to understand and master the material.
All first year students in the Science Faculty choose an initial selection of courses, and will then be assessed in each course after the first 6 weeks. They will then be guided on the best plan for their degree. Some will remain in a curriculum which will lead to a BSc in 3 years. Others will be advised, in consultation with Student Advisers, to spread their load over 4 years by changing to the Extended Degree Programme (EDP).
Majors offered by the Science Faculty are as follows:
- Applied Mathematics
- Applied Statistics
- Archaeology
- Astrophysics
- Biochemistry
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Computer Science, Computer Engineering & Business Computing*
- Environmental & Geographical Science
- Genetics
- Geology
- Human Anatomy & Physiology
- Marine Biology
- Mathematics
- Mathematical Statistics
- Ocean & Atmosphere Science
- Physics
- Quantitative Biology