An introduction to University of Kwazulu Natal

Covering five campuses, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, also known as UKZN, is a South African university which can trace its origins back to 1910. Its current incarnation was formed much later, when the University of Durban-Westville and the University of Natal merged in the early years of the 21st Century.

History and location

Overview
The University of Kwazulu-Natal owes its formation in 2004 to the merger of two South African universities, which occurred as a result of the restructuring of South African education. The University of Durban-Westville was originally established in the 1960s as the University College for Indians, and was located on on Salisbury Island in Durban Bay.
The numbers of students enrolled at the college were low though, which was largely a result of the Congress Alliances' policy of shunning Apartheid structures. In the 1980s, this policy changed as protest groups looked to make universities places of protest and struggle.
This was a result of a policy of "education under protest" by ant-Apartheid factions, and student numbers at the Durban university grew and it became autonomous institution in 1984 and opened its doors to students of all races, although it had been granted university status as early as 1971. The university of Natal was founded in 1910 as Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg.
It was granted independent university status in 1949 as numbers on the roll had increased.
It had also opened a campus in Durban by that time.

Learning and lifestyle

The basics
Kwazulu-Natal has a dramatic landscape of contrasts as well as a beautiful coastline, and UKZN has five campuses dotted all over the province. The official address of the university is the Westville campus, which is located about eight kilometres from the central business district of Durban.
This is where courses in Science, Engineering, Law, Commerce and Management, Humanities, Social Sciences and Health Sciences are offered. The Pietermaritzburg campus offers courses in Science and Agriculture, Education, Law, Human and Management Sciences.
The disciplines of Agriculture, Theology and Fine Art are unique to this campus within the university. Edgewood College in Pinetown centres its work upon education, while Howard College in Durban offers courses in Science (including Geography and Environmental disciplines), Engineering, Law, Management Studies, Humanities (including Music) and Social Sciences (including Social Work). There are also programmes in Architecture and Nursing on offer here. Final word
The Medical School, located in Durban, was formerly a 'black' facility in a 'white' university under the oppressive Apartheid regime.
It became a place strongly associated with the struggle for equality in South Africa with several notable protests being held there.