Welcome to the

Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is a creative and interactive learning environment where our students acquire the skills they need to engage critically and constructively with our society. With 14 undergraduate degree programmes and a range of postgraduate degree programmes on offer, students have the opportunity to develop as intellectually curious, independent, and informed thinkers, as well as engaged citizens.

Departmental Book Launch: WhatsApp in the World

How did an encrypted messaging app become a force in global politics and activism? ?WhatsApp in the World?uncovers how promised privacy can collide with political influence, shaping everything from elections to daily life. Join us for the second event in the...

The Centre for Science Communication is hosting its third Imidibaniso Exchange

The?Centre for Science Communication?is hosting its third?Imidibaniso?Exchange,?an annual?one-day media and communications workshop for scientists of all disciplines, researchers,?communicators, academics, and colleagues involved in any area of the sciences, as well...

Dr Ronita Mahilall’s book deals with palliative care and children: Lerato learns about Hospice Care

Dr Ronita Mahilall professional training is in the Social Sciences: Social Work. She has a Masters in Social Science from UNISA and a PhD in Psychology from Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票. She was offered a 2-year post-doc fellowship at National Institute of Health (NIH), in...

US Drama Department Presents: Atrocious Incarnation

US Drama Department Presents: Atrocious Incarnation Two scientists. Two secrets. Two sides. In a wartime laboratory where logic meets lunacy, our brilliant buffoons discover consciousness can be bottled, transferred, and thoroughly botched. Armed with tin-can...

US Drama Department Presents: Cantos of a Life in Exile.

US Drama Department Presents: Cantos of a Life in Exile Cantos of a Life in Exile Winner of the 2024 Standard Bank Silver Ovation Award Cantos of a Life in Exile is a powerful and deeply moving solo show that blends storytelling, poetry, and song—drawing from the rich...

First-of-its-kind summit hosted by SU’s Centre for Information Integrity in Africa

A first-of-its-kind Summit on Information Integrity featuring leading researchers, policy activists, industry roleplayers and media practitioners was hosted this week by the?Centre for Information Integrity in Africa (CINIA)?to address pressing issues facing the...

Lecture series: SONIC DEFIANCE 2 by Ari Sita

The concluding four lectures by Ari Sitas will again be delivered across two sessions. They continue the search for a way into music through words, and through examples of musical works that have grappled with the horrors of history while asserting a sense of...

PASSAGEWORKS Ari Sitas’ genre-busting “book”

The Africa Open Institute In association with Prof Lou-Marie Kruger, Helene Van Aswegen of the Book Workshop & UNISA Press’s Flame Series Invites you to the launch of PASSAGEWORKS Ari Sitas’ genre-busting “book” It is to be launched by William Kentridge and Sarah...

Teaching in Context: A reflective Journey of Purpose, Practice, and Partnership-By Danell Herbst-Muller

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Social Impact Committee Invites you to a lunch hour seminar By Danell Herbst-Muller: Teaching in Context: A reflective Journey of Purpose, Practice, and Partnership Date: Wednesday, 6 August 2025 Venue: Room 3002, Department of...

RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITION for MASTERS PROGRAMME IN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

African social science scholars interested in researching water ethics in Africa are invited to apply for a research assistant position to complete a? 2-year Masters Programme in Philosophy (MPhil) in Applied Ethics at the 中国体育彩票 of Stellenbosch in 2026/2027. The...

Our research, teaching and learning, and social impact initiatives are focused on understanding the challenges of being human in an interconnected and complex world.

We are interested in human ideas, human behaviour and human creativity. We study how human beings think, reason and communicate, how we live together in families in societies, and how we design our environment, deal with information, and express ourselves in language, literature and the creative arts. We also investigate human history and consider what the future might look like, and what it ought to look like.

Our teaching and research are internationally recognised, while remaining relevant to the region, country and continent.

Our degree programmes

We offer 14 undergraduate degree programmes and a wide range of Honours, Master’s and doctoral programmes. Postgraduate students are supervised by highly rated researchers, while our Graduate School provides them with the necessary support required to complete their degrees with success.

Our research

Our Faculty boasts one DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, four NRF SARChI chairs funded by the national Department of Science and Innovation, and 79 researchers rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF). These researchers are recognised by their peers as having made a substantial and significant contribution through their research.

Our social impact

Through our social impact work, the Faculty makes a considerable contribution towards realising Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票’s goal of becoming Africa’s leading research-intensive university producing inclusive and innovative research in service of society.

Learn more about social impact at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 HERE.

Why a BA degree?

Our social and political world, our environment, and the world of work are all changing rapidly. To meet the uncertainties and ambiguities of the present and future, we need knowledge workers who are able to understand and solve complex issues, interpret and analyse data, imagine and create solutions, and find meaning in our new ways of living. A BA degree will not prepare you for a single career path; it will equip you with the foundational knowledge and analytical thinking skills that are highly prized in a wide variety of workplaces, and that allows for flexible career pathways. Expect to receive a well-rounded education that will enable you to learn, grow and flourish as a person.

Graduate School

The?Graduate School is an initiative of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. It facilitates and administers the awarding of international postgraduate Masters and Doctoral scholarships across departments within the Faculty.

The School aims to provide a supportive space that is dynamic and collegial and that enables students to engage with research that addresses the challenges of our time.

Global partnerships

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has research networks and strategic partnerships with universities across Africa and the rest of the globe. Our partnership agreements make student and faculty exchanges and joint degrees, workshops and summer schools, short courses and other collaborative projects possible. Read more about our current partnerships HERE.

Latest News

Important Notices

Departmental Book Launch: WhatsApp in the World

How did an encrypted messaging app become a force in global politics and activism? ?WhatsApp in the World?uncovers how promised privacy can collide with political influence, shaping everything from elections to daily life. Join us for the second event in the...

The Centre for Science Communication is hosting its third Imidibaniso Exchange

The?Centre for Science Communication?is hosting its third?Imidibaniso?Exchange,?an annual?one-day media and communications workshop for scientists of all disciplines, researchers,?communicators, academics, and colleagues involved in any area of the sciences, as well...

Dr Ronita Mahilall’s book deals with palliative care and children: Lerato learns about Hospice Care

Dr Ronita Mahilall professional training is in the Social Sciences: Social Work. She has a Masters in Social Science from UNISA and a PhD in Psychology from Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票. She was offered a 2-year post-doc fellowship at National Institute of Health (NIH), in...

US Drama Department Presents: Atrocious Incarnation

US Drama Department Presents: Atrocious Incarnation Two scientists. Two secrets. Two sides. In a wartime laboratory where logic meets lunacy, our brilliant buffoons discover consciousness can be bottled, transferred, and thoroughly botched. Armed with tin-can...

US Drama Department Presents: Cantos of a Life in Exile.

US Drama Department Presents: Cantos of a Life in Exile Cantos of a Life in Exile Winner of the 2024 Standard Bank Silver Ovation Award Cantos of a Life in Exile is a powerful and deeply moving solo show that blends storytelling, poetry, and song—drawing from the rich...

First-of-its-kind summit hosted by SU’s Centre for Information Integrity in Africa

A first-of-its-kind Summit on Information Integrity featuring leading researchers, policy activists, industry roleplayers and media practitioners was hosted this week by the?Centre for Information Integrity in Africa (CINIA)?to address pressing issues facing the...

Lecture series: SONIC DEFIANCE 2 by Ari Sita

The concluding four lectures by Ari Sitas will again be delivered across two sessions. They continue the search for a way into music through words, and through examples of musical works that have grappled with the horrors of history while asserting a sense of...

PASSAGEWORKS Ari Sitas’ genre-busting “book”

The Africa Open Institute In association with Prof Lou-Marie Kruger, Helene Van Aswegen of the Book Workshop & UNISA Press’s Flame Series Invites you to the launch of PASSAGEWORKS Ari Sitas’ genre-busting “book” It is to be launched by William Kentridge and Sarah...

Teaching in Context: A reflective Journey of Purpose, Practice, and Partnership-By Danell Herbst-Muller

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Social Impact Committee Invites you to a lunch hour seminar By Danell Herbst-Muller: Teaching in Context: A reflective Journey of Purpose, Practice, and Partnership Date: Wednesday, 6 August 2025 Venue: Room 3002, Department of...

The History of (Un)Sustainability-virtual exchange

    Apply to be part of a virtual exchange course with the 中国体育彩票 of Groningen (the Netherlands) if you are interested in questions of sustainability from a historical and global perspective. Explore sustainability from economic, political,...

Contact us

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票
Private Bag X1
Matieland 7602

Phone: 021 808-2138
E-mail

Student Administration queries: here

Physical address:?
Arts and Social Sciences Building
Room 492
Merriman Avenue and Van Ryneveld Street?

Follow us on social media: here

 

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