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The Faculty of Humanities offers a wide variety of programmes in the: Arts; Social Sciences and the Performing and Creative Arts. These are in the form of General Degree as well as structured degree programmes.
A General Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Social Science degree offers a flexible degree structure which is spread over a minimum of three years of full-time study. The General Degree requires students to study at least two approved majors (i.e. a specialised study taken to third year level), selected from a wide choice of subjects. While major subjects require specific courses to be taken, with some choice within certain majors, outside the majors students have the freedom to choose from a wide range of courses. The degree structure is also adaptable, in that students may change majors as they go along, based on their experience of their courses.
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.
Students enrolling for a degree programme 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 |
African Studies |
Applied Biology |
Structured Degree Programmes are special combinations of disciplines and courses which have been curriculated 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. It is possible to change from certain named degree programmes to a general degree programme.
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 Music in Dance (BMus(Dance)) |
Bachelor of Social Science in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (BSocSc(PPE)) |
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) |
The Faculty also offers a number of specialisations. These are General Degrees which offer specialised curricula in particular subject areas or disciplines and which may have additional admission requirements.
General Degrees with specialisations in the Humanities |
Bachelor of Arts specialising in Film and Media Production (BA) |
Bachelor of Arts specialising in Music Education (BA) |
The Humanities 4-year degree – also sometimes called the `extended degree’ – is run by the Humanities Education Development Unit (Hum EDU). The 4-year degree results in exactly the same qualifications as a 3-year Humanities degree –a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Social Science (BSoc Sci) – but the minimum time to finish your degree is 4 years. This takes the pressure off, allows you to take fewer courses in any one semester, time to develop yourself, discover what you really want to do and also take 3 majors if you are doing well. Doing a 4-year degree gives you more time to complete the qualification, and also provides more teaching support throughout that qualification than occurs on the 3-year degree. This is to ensure that you have a rich undergrad experience and get the best results you can.
It is worth knowing that a high percentage of students who choose to do their degree in three years actually take four or more years to complete the degree anyway - due to failing some courses. The Humanities Faculty has specially designed the shape and pace of the four year degree so that you have enough time and support, meaning that failing is less likely and you finish with a stronger transcript and GPA than such a student who attempted to complete their degree in 3 years but in fact needed more time.
The Humanities 4 year degree is a placement program, meaning that you will apply to the university for a general Humanities degree, and if you are eligible for admittance to the 4 year program, you will be offered a place on it. However, if you’re accepted onto the 3-year Humanities degree and you’d like to move into the 4-year program, this is possible - you can apply to the Director of the Hum EDU to be moved onto the 4-year program.
Doing a 4-year Humanities degree comes with some distinct advantages, but there are also some limitations that you need to know before you decide to take up a place on the 4 year degree. We’ll quickly look at each; more information is available from the Hum EDU if you need it.
Advantages of the 4-year program:
4-year program restrictions
We look forward to welcoming you to UCT. If you have any additional questions, please email them to edu.humanities@uct.ac.za.
For additional information, please download and consult the Faculty brochures under Downloads.