University of the WitwatersrandWits

The University of the Witwatersrand, generally known as Wits, is a public research university in Johannesburg, Gauteng.

History

Its origins go back to 1896, when the South African School of Mines was established in Kimberley. The institution moved to Johannesburg in 1904 as the Transvaal Technical Institute and was renamed Transvaal University College in 1906. It became the South African School of Mines and Technology in 1910 and was reconstituted as the University College, Johannesburg in 1920. In 1922 it was granted full university status as the University of the Witwatersrand.

Faculties and study options

Teaching is primarily contact-based across five faculties: Commerce, Law and Management; Engineering and the Built Environment; Health Sciences; Humanities; and Science. Wits also runs Wits Plus, a continuing-education arm offering part-time and short courses, and lists some online degree and diploma options through its course search.

Campuses and facilities

The main campus is at 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein. Further campuses and facilities are spread across Parktown, including the Wits School of Education, Wits Business School and the Faculty of Health Sciences. There is also a rural teaching and research campus, the Wits Rural Facility, near Acornhoek in Mpumalanga.

Wits states that it is the only South African university to own a private hospital, the Donald Gordon Medical Centre, and describes itself as ranking in the top 1% of universities worldwide.

Undergraduate admission requirements

Undergraduate admission is based on the National Senior Certificate, or the IEB or SACAI equivalent, with a Bachelor's degree pass. Applicants are assessed using an admission points score calculated from their best seven subjects.

English is compulsory for all applicants. Mathematics is compulsory for numerate programmes such as Commerce, Engineering, Science and most Health Sciences degrees, while Mathematical Literacy is accepted for programmes including Education, Humanities and the LLB.