Information for Undergraduate International Students

An international student is a student who is not a national or permanent resident of South Africa, or any of the SADC member countries (see No. 1 below) or an accredited diplomatic representative or his/her dependants.
We are willing to consider applications from international students provided that the following requirements are met:
1.  that you have the funds to cover the full costs of studying at UCT; foreign students are not eligible for financial assistance. The Undergraduate BSc package tuition fee is approximately $6 000.00 for 2006. Fees will be payable in advance, prior to registration at UCT This will not affect students in the SADC countries (Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe).
2.  that you are able to make the necessary accommodation arrangements, as the number of places in UCT residences is very limited, and preference is given to South African students;
3.  you must be in possession of a valid study permit BEFORE leaving your home country. Compulsory healthcare is now also required by government. You must therefore have proof of a medical insurance which should cover hospitalisation, intensive care and repatriation of your body in the case of death;
4.  that you have obtained (or are in the process of obtaining) an exemption certificate issued by the Matriculation Board (P O Box 3854, Pretoria 0001) www.sauvca.org.za- this is usually a lengthy process and not all foreign school-leaving certificates are recognised as the equivalent of the South African Senior Certificate endorsed for university admission. Please note that O-levels or the equivalent are not sufficient for entry to university;
5.  that your school-leaving subjects (i.e. subjects passed in your final year at school) include Mathematics and one natural science subject, preferably Physics and/or Chemistry.
6.  All international students for whom English is not a first language must provide proof of English language proficiency. Applicants are required to have a score on the test of English as a Foreign language (TOEFL) or an overall band score of 7.0 (with no individual elements of the test scoring below 6.0) on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
Please note that bursaries and loans through the university are normally not available to foreign students as preference is given to disadvantaged South African students. You will need to finance your own studies. International students paying international fees must pay the full fee prior to registration. Students who are not South African or South African residents must pay the minimum initial payment(s) prior to registration or entering student accommodation.
For further information, contact the IAPO at: or phone: +27(0) 21 650 2822 fax: +27 (0) 21 686 5444
NB: The closing date for international students is 30 September
Information about the University of Cape Town as well as application forms can obtained from or, downloaded from the Internet website to save time. This can be found at: http://www.uct.ac.za/admin/admissions/uctapply.html