University of the Witwatersrand

About

The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a leading multi-campus public research university situated in the economic hub of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is known for its academic and research excellence, commitment to social justice, and the advancement of the public good. Wits University has been recognised as the top-ranked university in sub-Saharan Africa for innovation performance in the 2025 Global Innovation Index.

The university has its roots in the mining industry, as do Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand in general. Founded in 1896 as the South African School of Mines in Kimberley, it is the third oldest South African university in continuous operation.

The university has an enrollment of 41,702 students as of 2025, of which approximately 20 percent on campus in the university's 17 residences. About 61 percent (25,835) of the university's total enrollment is for undergraduate study, with 39 percent (15,867) being postgraduate or occasional students. The university assists students to access higher education as far as its resources allow. The university has an acceptance rate of approximately 4.5%, having received 140,000 applications but only having accepted 6,300 students.

Wits has five faculties, 33 schools and seven campuses in Parktown, Braamfontein and a rural campus in Mpumalanga. The university hosts South Africa’s only private teaching hospital, the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre. It also owns the Wits Sterkfontein Caves in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. In 2016 the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct was opened in Braamfontein.

The Wits Rural Campus in Mpumalanga conducts longitudinal research in science, health, social and economic areas, which can for example, be compared to data in urban settings.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.