Private company

University of the Western Cape

Logo: Jthwaitsuwc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Public university in Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa

The University of the Western Cape (UWC; Afrikaans: Universiteit van Wes-Kaapland) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African apartheid government as a university for Coloured people only. Other universities in Cape Town are the University of Cape Town (originally for English-speaking whites), Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and Stellenbosch University (originally for Afrikaans-speaking whites).2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1959Founded1
  • HeadquartersBellville, South Africa1
  • Websitewww.uwc.ac.za
  • Legal formNon-Profit Company3
  • LEI254900JGF8KG967PQX053
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusLapsed (not renewed)3
  • Registered addressRobert Sobukwe Road, 7535 Bellville, South Africa3
  • Registered withCompanies and Intellectual Property Commission, 2018/287250/083

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University of the Western Cape - Central Campus entry
Photo: Danmichaelo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons6

The University of the Western Cape (UWC; Afrikaans: Universiteit van Wes-Kaapland) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African apartheid government as a university for Coloured people only. Other universities in Cape Town are the University of Cape Town (originally for English-speaking whites), Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and Stellenbosch University (originally for Afrikaans-speaking whites). The establishing of UWC was a direct effect of the Apartheid-era Extension of University Education Act, 1959. This law accomplished the segregation of higher education in South Africa. Coloured students were only allowed at a few non-white universities. In this period, other "ethnical" universities, such as the University of Zululand and the University of the North, were founded as well. Since well before the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, it has been an integrated and multiracial institution.2

Corporate structure

University of the Western Cape sits at the top of its group. 2 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • University of the Western Cape Bellville, South Africa
    • Centre for Advanced Studies of African Societies Subsidiary · Cape Town, South Africa

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Early days

UWC started as a "bush college", a university college without autonomy under the auspices of the University of South Africa. The university offered a limited training for lower-to-middle-level positions in schools and the civil service. In the first years of its existence, a great deal of the teaching staff was white. Many of the lecturers came from Stellenbosch University. The language in most lectures was Afrikaans. The first rector was N. J. Sieberhagen (from 1960 until 1973). The university started as a small institution: in the first year, 166 students were enrolled and the teaching staff numbered 17. In 1970, the institution gained university status and was able to award its own degrees and diplomas.

From Wikipedia’s article on University of the Western Cape, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Leadership

Who has led University of the Western Cape, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Board members and other officers (3)

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

  • Centre for Advanced Studies of African Societies since 2018

From Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

  1. 2018Acquired Centre for Advanced Studies of African Societies1

Timeline

  1. 1959Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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