Vaal University of TechnologyVUT

Vaal University of Technology, usually shortened to VUT, is a public higher education institution established in terms of the Higher Education Act (Act 101 of 1997). It opened in 1966 as a college for advanced technical education, became a technikon in 1979, and was reconstituted as a university of technology in 2004. Teaching is campus-based, centred on the main campus on Andries Potgieter Boulevard in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, with a second site at Sebokeng, the Southern Gauteng Science and Technology Park.

Academic work is divided between four faculties: Applied and Computer Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Human Sciences and Management Sciences. Between them they cover natural and health sciences, computer science and applied physics; chemical, metallurgical, civil, electrical, mechanical and industrial engineering together with operations management; visual arts and design, hospitality, public relations and tourism, education, legal sciences and communication; and accountancy, human resource management, marketing, logistics and supply chain management, retail business and sport management. Qualifications run from diplomas through to doctoral degrees, and the institution states that they are accredited by the Council on Higher Education and registered with the South African Qualifications Authority.

Entry to undergraduate study is by National Senior Certificate carrying the appropriate diploma or degree endorsement, and every programme publishes its own compulsory subjects and minimum admission point score. Most Management Sciences diplomas, for example, ask for an APS of 20 to 23 excluding Life Orientation, with a set mark in English and in Mathematics, Technical Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy. Several programmes allow an age exemption for applicants of 23 or older who hold Grade 12 and can show permanent employment in a related field, and some creative programmes add an interview and a portfolio. Applications are submitted online and the application fee for the 2027 academic year is R110, payable on the application portal before the form can be submitted.

Funding routes named by the institution include the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, a Fundi student loan and bursaries offered through sector education and training authorities. Alongside formal qualifications VUT runs short learning programmes, individually priced, which build practical skills but do not lead to a formal qualification and do not guarantee admission to one.