University of MpumalangaUMP

The University of Mpumalanga, known as UMP, is a public university established under the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act 101 of 1997), as amended. Its establishment was made public through a Government Notice on 22 August 2013, and the university was formally launched on 31 October 2013. UMP was the first public university to be built in Mpumalanga province since South Africa's democratic transition, and it took in its first intake in February 2014, a cohort of 169 students studying across three programmes. On 1 January 2015 the Lowveld College of Agriculture, an established agricultural training institution, was incorporated into the new university, adding to its early academic base.

UMP teaches on a residential, campus basis rather than by distance. It has two campuses, both in Mpumalanga province: a main campus at Mbombela, on the corner of the R40 and D725 roads, and a second campus at Siyabuswa. Academic work is organised into three faculties, Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Education, and Economics, Development and Business Sciences, made up of eight schools between them. Qualifications on offer range from Higher Certificates through undergraduate diplomas and degrees to honours, master's and doctoral degrees, and the university also runs short learning programmes for working adults and organisations through its Continuing Education Services division. The university states that all of its programmes are accredited by the Council on Higher Education.

Enrolment has grown quickly since 2014: by the university's own count it had reached 13 371 students by 2026, studying across more than 80 accredited academic programmes. Applicants apply online and submit certified copies of an identity document and a Senior Certificate or National Senior Certificate, along with a non-refundable application fee that differs for South African, SADC and other international applicants. Detailed fee amounts are published each year in a downloadable UMP fees handbook rather than listed on the website itself.