Stellenbosch University (SU) is a public research university located in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. SU is the oldest university in the country, and its history stretches back to the founding of the Stellenbosch Gymnasium in 1864. The school became a college in 1918 and was granted university status in 1918. Today, SU is one of South Africa’s leading research universities, with nine faculties offering more than 140 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
SU has an enrollment of over 30,000 students, of which around 19% are international students from more than 100 different countries. The university has four campuses: two in Stellenbosch, one in Tygerberg (Cape Town), and another in Bellville (near Cape Town). It also has a satellite campus in Saldanha Bay.
The university is home to several world-class research facilities, including the National Centre for High Resolution Structural Biology, the Southern African Large Telescope, and the Institute for Wine Biotechnology. SU is also a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Association of African Universities.
Notable alumni of SU include Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, former President FW de Klerk, author Zakes Mda, and cricketer Herschelle Gibbs.