Research groups at UCT contribute to the university's strong culture of research excellence, capacity development, societal impact and interdisciplinary collaboration and engagement with partners across Africa and the world.
Formal research groups are accredited* by the University Research Committee (URC), and include Research Units, Research Centres and Research Institutes.
All research-specific groupings have departmental and Faculty homes. Across six faculties, our research community brings together diverse expertise to tackle complex challenges, drive innovation and create meaningful impact.
* For more information on the benefits of accreditation, criteria and eligibility, guidelines and the accreditation application and approval process, visit the Research Support Hub.
Accredited Research Groups (by faculty)
- Centre for Information Technology and National Development in Africa (CITANDA)
- Development Policy Research Unit (DPRU)
- Environmental-Economics Policy Research Unit (EPRU)
- Policy Research in International Services and Manufacturing (PRISM)
- Research Unit in Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics (RUBEN)
- Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP)
- Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU)
- Advanced Electric Power & Energy Conversion Research Centre (AEPEC)
- African Centre for Cities (ACC)
- Applied Thermofluid Process Modelling Research Unit (ATProM)
- Blast Impact and Survivability Research Unit (BISRU)
- Catalysis Institute (Centre for Catalysis Research)
- Centre for Bioprocess Engineering Research (CeBER)
- Centre for Materials Engineering (CME)
- Centre for Minerals Research (CMR)
- Centre for Research in Computational and Applied Mechanics (CERECAM)
- Centre for Research in Engineering Education (CREE)
- Centre for Transport Studies (CTS)
- Concrete Materials and Structural Integrity Research Unit (CoMSIRU)
- Crystallisation and Precipitation Research Unit (CPRU)
- Future Water Institute
- Minerals to Metals Initiative (M2M)
- Sustainability Oriented + Cyber Research Unit for Built Environment (S⊕CUBE)
- Urban Real-Estate Research Unit (URERU)
- Adolescent Health Research Unit (AHRU)
- Alan J Flisher Research Centre for Public Mental Health
- Albertina and Walter Sisulu Institute for Ageing in Africa (IAA)
- Biomedical Engineering Research Centre (BMERC)
- Cape Heart Institute (Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research In Africa (HICRA))
- Cardiovascular Research Unit (CVRU)
- Centre for Brain Behaviour (BBC)
- Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research (CEOHR)
- Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa)
- Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research (CIDER)
- Centre for Lung Infection and Immunity (CLII) (hosts the MRC Flagship NeXT RCT and the MRC Anti-Microbial Resistance Extramural Unit)
- Children's Institute
- Desmond Tutu HIV Centre (hosts the UCT/Medical Research Council (MRC) flagship project: Tuberculosis Transmission Host, Bacterium and Environment)
- Gender, Health and Justice Research Unit (GHJRU)
- Health Economics Unit (HEU)
- Health Through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport (H-PALS) Research Centre
- HIV Mental Health Unit (HIVMHU)
- Immunology of Infectious Diseases Research Unit (IIDRU)
- Inclusive Practices Africa Research Unit (IPARU)
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM)
- Kidney Disease and Hypertension Research Unit (KHRU)
- Medical Biotechnology and Immunotherapy Unit (MB&I)
- Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit (MMRU)
- MRC/UCT Child and Adolescent Lung Health Research Unit
- MRC/UCT Gynaecological Cancer Research Centre
- MRC/UCT Intersection of Noncommunicable Disease and Infectious Diseases Research Unit
- MRC/UCT Platform for Pharmacogenomics Research & Translation Research Unit
- MRC/UCT Precision and Genomic Medicine Research Unit
- MRC/UCT Wound and Keloid Scarring Translational Research Unit
- MRC/UCT/SU Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders Research Unit
- Neurosciences Institute
- Orthopaedic Research Unit (ORU)
- Receptor Biology Research Unit
- South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI)
- African Centre for Religion, Ethics and Society (ACRES)
- Centre for Contemporary Islam (CCI)
- Centre for Curating the Archive (CCA)
- Centre for Social Science Research (CSSR)
- Environmental Humanities South (EHS)
- Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa (IDCPPA)
- Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies and Research
- African Climate and Development Institute (ACDI)
- Artificial Intelligence Research Unit (AIRU) - CAIR UCT node
- Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation (SEEC)
- Centre for Supramolecular Chemistry Research (CSCR)
- Centre for Theoretical and Mathematical physics (CTMP)
- Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG)
- FitzPatrick Institute for African Ornithology (Fitztitute)
- Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI)
- Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa (iCWild)
- Marine and Antarctic Research centre for Innovation and Sustainability (MARIS)
- Metrological and Applied Sciences University Research Unit (MeASURe)
- Nansen-Tutu Centre for Marine Environmental Research (NTC)
- Plant Conservation Unit (PCU)
- Scientific Computing Research Unit (SCRU)
- UCT-CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) Research Centre