In general, a South African bachelor’s degree is of three years duration. Study abroad students take the equivalent of undergraduate courses at UCT (first, second, and third year courses or 1000-, 2000-, 3000-codes). Some fourth year level courses (which form part of the single year honours degree or the four year professional bachelor’s degree) may be open to study abroad students, if they meet the prerequisites.

As of July 1, 2010, UCT has implemented a new credit system (the NQF Credit System) for semester study abroad students. Study abroad students are permitted to enroll in a maximum of four semester courses or a minimum credit load of 72 credits. The maximum allowable credit load is 90 credits. Each course has a uniquely defined NQF credit value, which is published in the Faculty Course Handbooks. Check the NQF credit values for your selected courses carefully. Study abroad participants must review their final course selection with Dean Kanach to ensure credit transfer.

It is important that students select courses for the correct semester to speed up the process of receiving an offer letter and pre-approval from the Head of Department at UCT. Please note that the F and S at the end of a course code do not refer to fall and spring at UCT but refers to First Semester (February-July) and Second Semester (July-November).

For more information about selecting courses, see the guidelines for selecting courses at UCT, available at http://www.princeton.edu/oip/sap/programs/academic_year/africa/southafrica. Students will choose courses from the departments in the faculties listed below. In some cases, students may request to take a course in other faculties. Such requests must be discussed in advance.

If a student takes two or more courses in a Faculty, they will be enrolled in that Faculty. On arrival at UCT, students will be able to change their course choices if necessary, but they will not be able to change their Faculty. Therefore, a student who has been admitted to the Science Faculty, for instance, must continue to take at least two courses in the Science Faculty upon registration. No Faculty changes will be permitted upon registration.

Economics (with streams in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics; Finance; and Statistics).

Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electromechanical Engineering, Architectural Studies.

Economics; Political Studies; Psychological Studies; Social Studies (with streams in Religion Studies and Social Policy); Gender and Women's Studies; Cultural and Literary Studies (with a stream in Media, Film and Visual Studies); Historical Studies; Law and Humanities; Philosophy, Language, and Thought; Language Studies; Theater and Performance. 

Chemical Sciences, Molecular and Cell Biology, Environmental Science and Society, Science of Natural Systems (with streams in Life Sciences, Earth Sciences, and a combination of Life and Earth Sciences), Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (with streams in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics), Information Technology (with streams in Computer Science, Scientific Computing, Computer Engineering), Physical Sciences.

Students interested in African Studies are encouraged to take advantage of the many programs offered by the Center for African Studies at UCT. These include a series of lunchtime seminars on a variety of topics offered by UCT faculty and visiting scholars as well as art exhibitions and musical performances.