Program Overview

University of Cape Town Summer School Programs

The University of Cape Town offers a variety of summer school programs, including special lectures, tours, excursions, and workshops. These programs cover a range of topics, from literature and art to medicine and science.

Summer School 2026

The Summer School 2026 program includes the following courses:

• Special lectures, tours, excursions, and workshops
• Literature, Art, Music
• Current affairs, history, philosophy, Politics, economics
• Medicine
• Science
• Conservation and Nature
• Information Technology
• Practical Courses

Special Lectures, Tours, Excursions, and Workshops

Some of the special lectures and workshops offered in the Summer School 2026 program include:

• Campus Tours
• Demystifying drug discovery: what it takes to bring a new medicine from the bench to the bedside
• Design Thinking 101
• Excursion: the Cape Town Honey Company
• Indigenous tree identification in Newlands Forest
• Legacy Society in conversation: How the paths of a businessman and a scientist crossed and converged in the fight against malaria
• Professor Bongani Mayosi Memorial Lecture
• Professor Stuart John Saunders Lecture: Ageing and Medicine: The Growing Importance of better understanding this relationship
• UCT Distinguished Alumni Lecture: The State of the Rule of Law

Indigenous Tree Identification in Newlands Forest

This course is led by Professor Tjakie Naudť, Department of Private Law, University of Cape Town. The course takes place on Saturday, 31 January, from 8:30 to 11:30 am, and the meeting point is the sliding gate at the Newlands Forest Fire Station parking area. The course fee is R260, with a discounted rate of R210 for staff and students. The maximum number of participants is 15.

The course covers the identification of indigenous trees in the lower Newlands Forest, with a focus on the features relevant to the identification process, such as leaf type, leaf margin, and thorn pattern. Participants will also learn about the meanings of common tree names and the botanical names of the trees.

Summer School 2025

The Summer School 2025 program includes the following courses:

• Free lectures, tours, excursions, workshops
• History, Philosophy, Politics, Current Affairs, Economics
• Conservation and Nature
• Information Technology
• Medicine
• Practical Courses
• Science
• Literature, Art, Music

Summer School 2024

The Summer School 2024 program includes the following courses:

• Architecture and the built environment
• Conservation and Nature
• Excursions and Tours
• Information Technology
• Law and human rights
• Literature Art Music
• Medicine
• Philosophy, Politics, Current Affairs and History
• Practical Courses
• Science

Summer School 2023

The Summer School 2023 program includes the following courses:

• Literature, Art, Music
• Philosophy, Politics, Current Affairs and History
• Medicine
• Science
• Conservation and Nature
• Information Technology
• Practical Courses

Each of these programs offers a unique set of courses and workshops, providing participants with a wide range of learning opportunities.