1 Contents WELCOME 2 PART A: PREPARING TO APPLY 3 Matriculation Exemption 3 National Benchmark Tests (NBTs) 3 English language proficiency 4 Applications for student accommodation 5 Applications for undergraduate financial assistance 6 Portfolio requirements (BAS & BA(FA)) 7 International applicants 8 Application fees 9 Monitoring your application status 10 KEY DATES 11 PART B: APPLYING ONLINE 12 The process after you apply online Updating your application PART C: SUBMITTING A PAPER APPLICATION 13 Updating your application 15 Code tables to be used when completing your application form 16 PART D: CONTACT DETAILS 32 PART E: MAPS OF UCT CAMPUS AND SURROUNDING AREAS 33 Apply online at http://applyonline.uct.ac.za Apply online if you have a working email address that is not shared with another UCT applicant. CORRESPONDENCE AND INQUIRIES Please address correspondence to [email protected] or to: The Director of Admissions, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa. For faculty-specific and other queries, please use the contact details in Part D. We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information in this guide and our handbooks. However, we reserve the right at any time, if circumstances dictate, to: (i) change any of the published details as well as the courses and curricula on offer, or (ii) add to, or withdraw any of the courses on offer. 2 WELCOME Dear Applicant, Thank you for your interest in studying at the University of Cape Town. We strive to be world class. Established in 1829, we are South Africa’s oldest university, and a leading university in Africa. As a student, you will be part of a vibrant UCT community and benefit from a range of academic programmes in Commerce, Engineering & the Built Environment, Health Sciences, Humanities, Law and Science. Our undergraduate programmes benefit from the important research being undertaken in all departments. UCT has a rich mix of South African students, and we have international students from approximately 100 countries. We offer diversity that is worthy of celebration. The UCT educational experience is multi-dimensional and encompasses outstanding sports facilities, a rich student residence experience as well as a range of student clubs, societies and sport codes that cater for many interests. This guide will help you to apply. After you apply, we will send you your applicant number. Please quote this number in all subsequent communication. Do not hesitate to contact us should you need further information. (Where you are unable to apply online you should contact us for hard copy application forms.) We are proud of our students, each of whom contributes to the vitality of UCT. We look forward to receiving your application and hope to welcome you to UCT in 2020. Carl Herman Director of Admissions 2020 DIRECTIONS FOR UNDERGRADUATE APPLICANTS PART A: PREPARING TO APPLY MATRICULATION AND THE NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE (NSC) “Matriculation” means you have met the legal minimum admission requirement for degree study. This means that: • your NSC has been endorsed by UMALUSI to the effect that you have met the minimum requirements for admission to bachelors degree (or if applying for a diploma, the minimum requirements for admission to diploma study) at a South African university, or • your Senior Certificate has been endorsed by UMALUSI to the effect that you have met the minimum requirements for admis- sion to degree study in a South African university; or • you have a certificate of complete exemption from matriculation requirements, issued by the Matriculation Board. We set additional admission requirements over and above the minimum legal eligibility requirement. In addition to the legal mini- mum you must also meet the admission requirements for your programme of study. These are set out in our Prospectus. CONDITIONAL MATRICULATION EXEMPTION Although we do not usually accept applicants with certificates of Conditional Exemption, we will give consideration to applicants who qualify for Conditional Exemption. These certificates can be granted to: • South Africans on the grounds of mature age, subject to minimum requirements as set by the Matriculation Board • applicants who have written a school-leaving examination other than the SA Senior Certificate • immigrants • applicants who have obtained certain post-school qualifications Where we offer you a study place, and you intend to register at UCT in 2020, it is your responsibility to apply for the issue of the necessary conditional exemption certificate. This is done by submitting the appropriate application form, documents and fee to UCT at registration. UCT then forwards this to the Matriculation Board. You will be advised by the relevant faculty office. ELIGIBILITY FOR MATRICULATION EXEMPTION FOR HOLDERS OF FOREIGN QUALIFICATIONS If you have a school-leaving certificate from an international or foreign examing authority, to establish if you are eligible for a matriculation exemption certificate, consult the website at http://mb.usaf.ac.za/ or write to: HE Enrolment Programme (Matriculation Board), PO Box 3854, Pretoria 0001, South Africa Tel: +27 010 591 4401/2 Fax: +27 86 680 5727 Email: [email protected] ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDY Familiarise yourself with our admission criteria. Should you hold a school-leaving certificate for which admission criteria are not specified in the 2020 Undergraduate Prospectus, your application will be considered individually, taking into account your school curriculum, performance and National Benchmark Test results, where appropriate. The 2020 Undergraduate Prospectus gives details of our admission requirements. Meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Places are limited for reasons of capacity and this could mean that applicants who meet the minimum admission requirements do not receive an offer of a study place. NATIONAL BENCHMARK TESTS (NBTS) All undergraduate applicants who are normally resident in, or have completed schooling in South Africa must write the National Benchmark Tests (NBTs), and all applicants to programmes in Health Sciences must write the NBTs. You must: • register for the NBTs before you apply (online, or before you submit a paper application form); • include your NBT registration number in your application; • have written the NBTs by 31 July 2019 for Health Sciences and 12 October 2019 for other Faculties. 2020 DIRECTIONS FOR UNDERGRADUATE APPLICANTS Applicants to the Faculty of Law and to Faculty of Humanities programmes, where Mathematics is not a requirement, need to write only the Academic and Quantitative Literacy (AQL) test. Applicants to Commerce, Engineering & the Built Environment, Health Sciences, and Science, must write both the AQL and the Mathematics NBT tests. For information on the NBTs, please either visit www.nbt.ac.za, or call 021 650 3523, or fax 021 650 5331, or email [email protected], or write to: The Project Secretary, Centre for Educational Testing for Access and Placement, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701. When to write National Benchmark Tests We strongly encourage you to write the NBTs by 31 July 2019. The final date for writing the NBTs is 12 October 2019 except for Health Sciences. You do not need to submit your NBT results to UCT. We will receive these directly from the NBT Offices. If you are unable to write the NBTs by 12 October 2019 you must apply to the Admissions Office before the end of September 2019 for permission to write the NBTs later. Permission will be granted only if there is evidence that you were unable to write. Please note (1) that NBTs can be written outside SA; and (2) your application for undergraduate study may be denied if you do not write by 12 October 2019 unless you have applied for and obtained permission to write at a later date. Rewriting the NBTs You are allowed to rewrite the NBTs once. Should you elect to do so, the second sitting must be no later than 12 October 2019. We use the better results of each domain / test. For applicants who previously wrote the NBTs NBT results are only valid for two years prior to the year of application; so if you wrote the NBTs in 2017 or 2018, the results remain valid, but you may choose to rewrite in 2019. If you wrote the NBTs prior to 2016, these results are no longer valid. Please submit your NBT registration number with your application, and we will obtain your results. If you no longer have your NBT registration number, please visit www.nbt.ac.za in order to obtain your NBT registration number. You will need your South African identity number or passport number. How to register for the NBTs You may register online or by telephone for the NBTs. 1. Register online at www.nbt.ac.za. After reading the general information and the FAQs, select the ‘‘Book a test” link and follow all instructions. Note that you will need your SA identity number or a foreign passport number in order to register. If you encounter problems during the registration process, call 021 650 3523 or send an email to [email protected] for assistance. The NBT Project is staffed from 08:00 to 16:00 weekdays and from 07:00 to 10:00 on national test days. 2. If you do not have access to the internet, call 021 650 3523 for registration assistance at the times above. 3. There is a fee for the National Benchmark Tests. ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY The medium of instruction and examination at UCT is English. You must be proficient in English. You must have attained one of the following levels of proficiency in English: If you are a South African applicant: • A pass equivalent to English at the South African National Senior Certificate level, either at Home Language or First Additional Language level. • A pass equivalent to English (E symbol) at the South African Senior Certificate level If you are an international applicant for whom English is a foreign language: • a stipulated score on the National Benchmark Tests (NBTs).