The University of South Africa (Unisa), the only higher education institution to carry the name of the country, is the people's university in every sense of the word. Throughout its history, spanning 15 decades, Unisa has responded to the developments brought about by changing times, the needs of a developing country and society at large, and an ever-evolving higher education environment. This was achieved through ongoing and dynamic transitioning. Unisa's journey has been one of continuous growth and transformation, aimed at shaping tomorrow through education.
Unisa's roots (and indeed that of higher education in South Africa) date back to 1873 when the University of the Cape of Good Hope was founded, initially functioning as an examining body for higher education.
In 1916, the university changed its name to the University of South Africa and in 1918 it relocated to Pretoria. In 1946, it became one of the first public universities in the world to teach exclusively by means of distance education. Today, Unisa is widely recognised as a leading comprehensive, open, distance and e-Learning (CODeL) university. The university has more than 370 000 students and is the largest university in South Africa and on the African continent, and one of the world's mega-universities.
With offices across South Africa and students from 109 countries, Unisa has an extensive geographical footprint and global reach. Click here for more information.
The University of South Africa (Unisa) is Africa's leading open distance learning institution, offering internationally recognised and accredited qualifications coupled with excellent resources that inspire learners to create meaningful futures. Unisa is a comprehensive and reputable university with footprints throughout the world. Students can enrol for learning programmers in a wide spectrum of disciplines.
Acclaimed scholars and academics drive research across academic colleges and professional departments at Unisa. Unisa has identified research as a strategic pillar advancing scholarship, innovation, development, and sustainability. Some of the flagship research areas include financial accounting, social security, HIV/AIDS, teacher education, water, demographic modelling and analysis, biosciences and environment, genomics, and crop production.
The core focus areas of Unisa are teaching, research and community engagement handled through its colleges, institutes, and bureaus.
These are the University Colleges below:
Professional and support services are provided through various departments and units of the university ensuring support and service delivery to students, staff, university community, and national and international stakeholders.
Further information on Unisa, its colleges, schools and departments is available at www.unisa.ac.za
The Science Campus
The Unisa Science Campus, located in Florida, Johannesburg, is home to Unisa's College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and the College of Science, Engineering and Technology.
Unisa is incredibly proud of this campus, because of its state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment available to scholars and students to conduct critical research and the teaching of the sciences. The laboratories are also available for use by the other colleges at Unisa.
Unisa Regional Centres
Unisa has twenty-seven regional offices (hubs and centres) in all the provinces of South Africa, as indicated on the map of South Africa below.
Unisa Library
Established in 1946, the Unisa Library is the largest academic library in Africa, and one of the best endowed with information resources, information technology and expert staff. The Library has 1,5 million items, 300 000 other items and 4 000 current periodical titles in stock. Both the e-journals and (e-books) are available to Unisa students and staff online 24/7.
Thabo Mbeki Library
The Thabo Mbeki Presidential Library brings together a rich collection of Former President Mbeki's books, writings and other material. Here you will track his political evolution and the outstanding contribution he has to South Africa, Africa and the global political stage.
Study material production and delivery
Unisa handles its own design, production and publishing of books and study material, and the delivery of study material items for all academic and administration departments.
Last modified: 2023-09-10 19:48:39.0