Postgraduate studies are a breeze at UWC
It’s the middle of the year, and aspirant postgraduate students are thinking hard about whether this is the right time to further their studies. It’s not always a simple decision. At the University of the Western Cape (UWC) we are aware of the tensions and demands that exist between a student’s family life, academic career and the funding of further studies.
With a vibrant postgraduate and research environment, excellent postgraduate support and supervision, state-of-the-art facilities and research that is cutting-edge and relevant to the community, UWC might be just the place for you to pursue your postgraduate studies.
UWC strives to be a place of quality and a place to grow. We are committed to excellence in teaching, learning and research, to nurturing the cultural diversity of South Africa, and to responding in critical and creative ways to the needs of a society in transition. In the face of pressing issues such as climate change, poverty and scarce resources, UWC strives to be an “engaged university”, a nexus of research, teaching and learning.
UWC is leading African efforts to find affordable and safe alterna- tives to fossil fuels and to engage in the Hydrogen Economy. We are the hub of the National Nanoscience Postgraduate Teaching & Training Platform, offering master’s degrees in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. The South African National Bioinformatics Institute has been part of international efforts to decode genomes and use genetic information to fight diseases. The Interdisciplinary Centre of Excellence for Sport Science & Development promotes sport as a powerful tool for development, health, wellbeing and social change.
UWC took seventh spot in the 2015 Times Higher Education African University Ratings, based mainly on research influence and knowledge production — for which the Centre for Higher Education Transformation has rated UWC in the top tier of South African universities. A National Research Foundation research report shows UWC leads South African universities in Physics, Molecular Biology & Genetics, and Biology & Biochemistry, and also takes second place in Computer Science, among others.
We are host to 14 South African National Research Chairs (SARChi Chairs): Nano-Electrochemistry and Sensor Technology: Microbial Genomics; Nuclear Science; Earth Conservation Applications for Water Assessment & Management; MultiLevel Government, Law & Policy; Cosmology and Wavelength Data; Health Systems: Complexity & Social Change; Bioinformatics & Human Health Genomics; Astronomy & Astrophysics; Land Issues & Poverty Alleviation; Mathematics Education; Health Systems Governance; Visual History and a SA-UK Bilateral Research Chair in Social Protection for Food Security.
And we boast many more excellent academic programmes.
UWC hosts three World Health Organisation Collaborating Centres. The University is a world leader in Constitutional Law and Child Rights Law. The Flagship on Critical Thought in African Humanities of the Centre for Humanities Research at UWC constitutes an arena for scholarly exchange, artistic creation and public inquiry into African political subjectivity, art and society, and technology and humanity. The Centre for Multiligualism and Diversities Research focuses on transmigrational and global economies of the South. The Institute for Poverty, Land & Agrarian Studies focuses on policy and development studies with regard to South Africa’s chronic poverty and structural inequality. The Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence in Food Security, jointly hosted by the University of the Western Cape and the University of Pretoria, brings together the expertise of numerous South African and international institutions and over 100 researchers across various disciplines.
To support these research niches — and the postgraduate students and researchers who make it possible — UWC’s Division for Postgraduate Studies (DPGS), a collaborative hub for postgraduate education across the institution, offers a range of research development interventions and services. Doctoral students at UWC are able to access all the necessary support they require to be successful in their studies.
One important intervention is the Research Induction Programme, which introduces new postgraduate students to the university and the research environment. They are made aware of the vast number of research capacity development opportunities available to support them on the postgraduate journey, including thesis and proposal writing programmes, writing retreats and “Finishing School”.
Funding and academic advising are key determinants when making the decision to study further. We are able to offer academic advice and link postgraduate students with potential supervisors and programmes. There are a number of funding possibilities available to students and the support to enable them to effectively seek out and apply for all postgraduate funding opportunities that are available for students in the South African public higher education system and abroad. In addition to this, the fee structure is the lowest in the region.
UWC has a range of dynamic and mutually beneficial research partnerships with a range of international research partnerships that provide opportunities for student and staff exchange, collaborative research and learning and create conduits for sustainable research funding, including for postgraduate education and research opportunities. We encourage and support our doctoral candidates to participate in exchanges with our international research partners.
At the University of the Western Cape, we believe in training the next generation of thought leaders to make a real difference. International partnerships, easily accessible funding and the support needed to reach your potential — these are just a few of the advantages of postgraduate study with us.
To find out more about t he postgraduate programmes at the University of the Western Cape, please visit www.uwc.ac.za, email: pgschool@uwc.ac.za or call +2721 959 2911/2451.