South Africa · Eastern Cape

University of Fort Hare

Alice, Eastern Cape · Traditional university

ufh.ac.za →

Students, 2024

17,604

1.6% of all public university students

First-time undergraduates

3,992

entering in 2024

Graduates, 2024

3,717

State funding, 2024/25

R974 million

total amount allocated

Who studies what

Students by field

  • Science, engineering & technology4,248 · 24.1%
  • Business & management2,977 · 16.9%
  • Education3,168 · 18.0%
  • Other humanities & social sciences7,212 · 41.0%

Students by qualification

  • Occasional students20 · 0.1%
  • Undergraduate certificates & diplomas103 · 0.6%
  • Undergraduate degrees14,841 · 84.3%
  • Advanced diploma & PGCE244 · 1.4%
  • Postgraduate, below master's1,106 · 6.3%
  • Master's degrees901 · 5.1%
  • Doctoral degrees389 · 2.2%

First-time undergraduates, 2009–2024

2009: 2,3142024: 3,992

Graduates, 2024

By field

  • Science, engineering & technology955 · 25.7%
  • Business & management458 · 12.3%
  • Education757 · 20.4%
  • Other humanities & social sciences1,548 · 41.6%

Graduation rate by level

  • Undergraduate certificates & diplomas29.1%
  • Undergraduate degrees17.2%
  • Postgraduate, below master's62.2%
  • Master's degrees20.6%
  • Doctoral degrees16.2%

A graduation rate here is the year's graduates as a percentage of everyone enrolled at that level — the Department's proxy for throughput, not the share of an intake that finishes. For a three-year degree in which every student graduates on time it would be about 33%, so 15–20% is typical, not a failure rate.

State funding

2019/20R961 million
2020/21R1.06 billion
2021/22R846 million
2022/23R912 million
2023/24R837 million
2024/25R974 million

Total amount the Department allocated to the university each financial year. It is not what students pay.

Fees and entry requirements

South Africa has no national register of fees or admission point scores (APS): each university sets and publishes its own. International-student numbers per university are not in the Department's report either. For both, go to UFH's own site.

Also in Eastern Cape: Nelson Mandela University, Rhodes University, Walter Sisulu University

University type (traditional, comprehensive, university of technology) follows the Council on Higher Education's VitalStats 2022, Appendix 1. The Department counts the same 26 universities as 11 / 9 / 6; the Council lists them 13 / 7 / 6.

Source: Department of Higher Education and Training, Statistics on Post-School Education and Training in South Africa: 2024 (released May 2026). University type from the Council on Higher Education, VitalStats Public Higher Education 2022. City and province added by CollegeMatcher.