Welcome to the Faculty of Humanities at UCT, and to this website which we hope you will find informative and easy to use, whether as a first-time student seeking information about undergraduate degrees, or as a student enquiring about postgraduate study and research opportunities.
With 15 academic departments and the opportunity to select subjects within and across faculties, you enjoy a wide choice in making up your curriculum. We have set out the degrees and programmes available, as well as the details of each department.
I am often asked what a Humanities degree will equip our students to become in their working lives. Our graduates are sought after in a range of different areas, and the ability which they display, cultivated over years of undergraduate (and postgraduate) study, is possibly best summed up by John Higgins, an A-rated Professor in English Language and Literature at UCT. He points to the information revolution which has taken hold globally, placing before us daily a wide range of texts which we are called upon to work with and to negotiate. Information is useless without interpretation, Higgins argues. The truly massive increase in the volume of available information makes the critical skills in advanced literacy offered by the Humanities absolutely crucial. The ability not only - at the most basic level - to paraphrase and pass on information, but also, in more advanced ways, with different emphases by different academic disciplines - to subject all seemingly neutral information to critical scrutiny becomes ever more prized. Literacy in this sense, which is associated with study in the Humanities, remains the basis for personal empowerment for citizens of the network age.
We will give you all the assistance you need in selecting your curriculum. For first year students, Orientation week is designed to help confirm your choices and academic advisors will be available to consult with you. UCT offers a wide variety of different clubs and societies, which organise a rich variety of events throughout the year.
I hope that your stay at UCT will be a happy and enriching experience.
Professor Paula Ensor
Contact the Dean
Email us
Tel: 021 650 3059
Fax: 021 686 9840
Physical address:
The Office of the Dean
The Faculty of Humanities
Beattie Building
University Avenue, Upper Campus
University of Cape Town
Rondebosch
Postal address:
The Office of the Dean
The Faculty of Humanities
University of Cape Town
Private Bag X3
Rondebosch, 7701