University of KwaZulu-Natal Information
The University of KwaZulu-Natal, abbreviated as UKZN, is a multi-campus public university in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It has five campuses located in the cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban, one in the former and four in the latter. It was formed by the merger of two universities, the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.
Other good South African Colleges include the University of Cape Town, University of Witwatersrand, and University of Pretoria.
University of KwaZulu-Natal was formed on January 1, 2004 by the merger of the universities mentioned above. The merger was part of the South African government’s reform program aiming to reconfigure and restructure the country’s higher education system. Of the two universities that merged, the University of the Natal is older, founded in 1910 and granted university status in 1949. The University of Durban-Westville (UDW) was founded in the 1960’s and became autonomous in 1984. UDW had been known since its inception for its activism, especially its strong anti-apartheid stance. The merger of the two universities in 2004 was amongst the first of the South African higher education institutions to merge in that year.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal is organized into four colleges. Each college is divided into faculties and the faculties are further subdivided into schools. At present, there are 52 schools in the university though it is expected that this number will be reduced to approximately 20 in the coming years due to further restructuring.
The four colleges are the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, divided into the Faculty of Science and Agriculture and the Faculty of Engineering; the College of Health Sciences, divided into the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine; the College of Humanities, divided into the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Humanities, Development and Social Sciences; and the College of Law and Management Studies, divided into the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Management Studies.
Since University of KwaZulu-Natal is a new university, its graduates are yet to attain fame or receive wide recognition. There are, however, a great number of well-known alumni from its two founding institutions. Some of the notable alumni of the University of Natal include South African Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, poet Sheila Cussons and writer John van de Ruit. From the University of Durban-Westville are South African deputy Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba and South African deputy Minister of Communications Radhakrishna Padayachi.
University of KwaZulu-Natal Address
The UKZN address is through Private Bag X54001 Durban.
University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) Rankings and Quick Facts
This university iof KwaZulu is located in South Africa and is often referred to by the abbreviated name of UKZN.
| University world Ranking – Jiaotong 500 (China) |
403 to 510
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| African Rank (Jiaotong) |
3
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UKZN Facts
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| Students (Undergraduates / PG/ Total) |
42,000
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| Faculty / Staff |
4,300
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| Established |
2004
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