The mission of the Centre for Open Learning (COL) is to contribute to the University's social responsiveness through the support of student success and by acting to make the academic and knowledge resources of the University accessible to a wider range of participants. The COL provides a range of courses and learning opportunities for local and overseas university students as well as participants from commerce and industry, government departments, NGOs and the general public.
COL coordinates several different initiatives including the annual Summer School, short courses for the general public, continuing education courses for working people, Third Term credit-bearing courses for current UCT students and specialised programmes for visiting international student groups.
COL also produces the Continuing Education Handbook which consolidates information about the various opportunities for learning at UCT while continuing to work.
Summer School
The annual Summer School runs for two weeks in January each year and is the largest public education programme of its kind in South Africa, regularly attracting around 3 000 people. This public education programme offers courses on a range of topics from arts, humanities and current issues to the physical and environmental sciences and aims to make specialised knowledge accessible to a wide audience, regardless of educational qualifications. These courses are for non-degree purposes and do not involve examinations or certification, though written or practical projects and reading may be required. The programme is available from October each year on the Summer School website. The 63rd annual Summer School will take place from Monday 21 January to Friday 1 February 2013.
Global Citizenship Programme
The UCT Global Citizenship: Leading for Social Justice Programme is an extra-curricular programme that provides students with an opportunity to engage critically with contemporary global debates and to reflect on issues of citizenship and social justice. While voluntary and not credit-bearing, the programme is recognised on students' academic transcripts as a UCT Short Course.
Public and Continuing Education (PACE)
In addition to the annual Summer School, short courses are offered for professional development, organisational capacity development and public interest. A variety of courses have been offered over the years and can be customised for particular organisations. Each year a selection of courses are run as public open programmes and are advertised on this website and in the media. For details see Current Public Courses.
For details on the Navigating Research Literacies short course, click here.
Third Term
COL's Third Term Division offers a limited number of UCT accredited courses to local and international students during University vacations.
International Programmes
COL offers customised short programmes by special arrangement to international student groups which combines high quality learning with an unusual travel experience.
Confucius Institute
The Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Town promotes the learning of Chinese language and culture as well as a broader and more informed understanding of China in Cape Town and across South Africa. We seek to attract more interest in the Chinese language and understanding of Chinese culture among students and faculties at UCT, as well as the broader community in Cape Town. For details visit the Confucius Institute website.