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. It was ranked the top university in South Africa and 200th globally in July 2026, according to the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), a widely accepted objective university ranking standard. 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.
Nelson Mandela was one of four Nobel laureates that emanate from Wits - the others were Sir Sydney Brenner, Aaron Klug, and Nadine Gordimer, alongside several other prominent Witsies.
History
Early years: 1896–1922 The university was founded in Kimberley in 1896 as the South African School of Mines. It is the third oldest South African university in continuous operation, after the University of Cape Town (founded in 1829),University of Cape Town , History introduction, retrieved 16 September 2019 and Stellenbosch University (founded in 1866).Stellenbosch University , Timeline, retrieved 16 September 2019 Eight years later, in 1904, the school was moved to Johannesburg and renamed the Transvaal Technical Institute. The school's name changed yet again in 1906 to Transvaal University College. In 1908, a new campus of the Transvaal University College was established in Pretoria. The Johannesburg and Pretoria campuses separated on 17 May 1910, each becoming a separate institution. The Johannesburg campus was reincorporated as the South African School of Mines and Technology, while the Pretoria campus remained the Transvaal University College until 1930 when it became the University of Pretoria. In 1920, the school was renamed the University College, Johannesburg.
Open years: 1922–1959 Finally, on 1 March 1922, the University College, Johannesburg, was granted full university status after being incorporated as the University of the Witwatersrand.South African History Online , "Wits attains full university status", retrieved 7 December 2011 The Johannesburg municipality donated a site in Milner Park, north-west of Braamfontein, to the new institution as its campus and construction began the same year, on 4 October. The first Chancellor of the new university was Prince Arthur of Connaught and the first Principal (a position that would be merged with that of Vice-Chancellor in 1948) was Professor Jan Hofmeyr.South African History Online , "The inauguration of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) is celebrated", retrieved 13 December 2011 Hofmeyr set the tone of the university's subsequent opposition to apartheid when, during his inaugural address as Principal he declared, while discussing the nature of a university and its desired function in a democracy, that universities "should know no distinctions of class, wealth, race or creed".Alan Paton, Hofmeyr, 1964, p.81 True to Hofmeyr's words, from the outset Wits was an open university with a policy of non-discrimination on racial or any other grounds.
Initially, there were six faculties - Arts, Science, Medicine, Engineering, Law and Commerce - 37 departments, 73 academic staff, and approximately 1,000 students. In 1923, the university began moving into the new campus, vacating its former premises on Eloff Street for the first completed building in Milner Park: the Botany and Zoology Block. In 1925, the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII) officially opened Central Block (which includes the Great Hall).
The university's first library, housed at the time in what was meant to be a temporary construction, was destroyed in a fire on Christmas Eve in 1931. Following this, an appeal was made to the public for £80,000 to pay for the construction of a new library, and the acquisition of books. This resulted in the construction of the William Cullen Library; opened in 1934. , Origins and Architecture of the William Cullen Library at Wits, retrieved 16 September 2019 During this period, as the Great Depression hit South Africa, the university was faced with severe financial restrictions. Nonetheless, it continued to grow. From a total enrolment of 2,544 students in 1939, the university grew to 3,100 in 1945. This growth led to accommodation problems, which were temporarily resolved by the construction of wood and galvanised-iron huts in the centre of the campus (which remained in use until 1972).
During World War II, Wits was involved in South Africa's war efforts. The Bernard Price Institute of Geophysical Research was placed under the Union of South Africa's defence ministry and was involved in important research into the use of radar. Additionally, an elite force of female soldiers was trained on the university's campus.
In 1948 the National Party (NP) was voted into power by South Africa's white electorate, and apartheid (Afrikaans for "separateness") policies started to become law. The racist separation policies sparked a response, in 1957, by Wits, the University of Cape Town, Rhodes University and the University of Natal, who issued a joint statement entitled "The Open Universities in South Africa", committing themselves to the principles of university autonomy and academic freedom.The Institutional Context of Restructuring External and Internal Determinants , retrieved 13 December 2011
In 1959, the apartheid government's Extension of University Education Act forced restricted registrations of black students for most of the apartheid era; despite this, several notable black leaders graduated from the university. Wits protested strongly and continued to maintain a firm and consistent stand in opposition to apartheid. This marked the beginning of a period of conflict with the apartheid regime, which also coincided with a period of growth for the university. It was desegregated once again, prior to the abolition of apartheid, in 1990.
Growth and opposition to apartheid: 1959–1994
As the university continued to grow to over 16,400 by 1985, the expansion of the university's campus became imperative. In 1964, the medical library and administrative offices of the Faculty of Medicine moved to Esselen Street, in the Hillbrow district of Johannesburg. In 1968, the Graduate School of Business was opened in Parktown. A year later, the Ernest Oppenheimer Hall of Residence and Savernake, the new residence of the vice-chancellor (replacing Hofmeyr House on the main campus) were both established, also in Parktown. That same year, the Medical School's new clinical departments were opened.
During the course of the 1960s, Wits acquired a limestone cave renowned for its archaeological material located at Sterkfontein. A farm next to Sterkfontein named Swartkrans rich in archaeological material was purchased in 1968 and excavation rights were obtained for archaeological and palaeontological purposes at Makapansgat, located in the Limpopo Province.
The 1960s also witnessed widespread protest against apartheid policies. This resulted in numerous police invasions of campus to break up peaceful protests, as well as the banning, deportation and detention of many students and staff. Government funding for the university was cut, with funds originally meant for Wits often being channelled to the more conservative Afrikaans universities instead.Joburg.org.za , "Wits turns 85 today", retrieved 30 December 2011
The 1970s saw the construction of Jubilee Hall and the Wartenweiler Library, as well as the opening of the Tandem Accelerator; the first, and to date only, nuclear facility at a South African university. In 1976, Lawson's Corner in Braamfontein was acquired and renamed University Corner. Senate House, the university's main administrative building, was completed in 1977. The university underwent a significant expansion programme in the 1980s. The Medical School was moved to new premises on York Street in Parktown on 30 August 1982. Additionally, in 1984 the university acquired the Milner Park showgrounds from the Witwatersrand Agricultural Society including the Tower of Light. These became the West Campus, with the original campus becoming East Campus. In 1984, the Chamber of Mines building opened. A large walkway named the Amic Deck was constructed across the De Villiers Graaff Motorway which bisects the campus, linking East Campus with West Campus.
The 1980s also witnessed a period of heightened opposition to apartheid, as the university struggled to maintain its autonomy in the face of attacks from the apartheid state. Wits looked anew to the "Open Universities" statement of 1957, to which the University of the Western Cape now also added its voice. As the apartheid government attempted, through the threat of financial sanctions, to bring Wits under firmer control, protest escalated culminating in the General Assembly of 28 October 1987, at which the university reiterated its commitment to the values underlying the "Open Universities" statement.
University management itself came under increasing grassroots pressure to implement change within the university. A Wits-initiated research project, Perspectives of Wits (POW), published in 1986, revealed a surprising disconnect between the perceptions disadvantaged communities had of Wits and the image Wits had been attempting to convey of itself as a progressive opponent of apartheid. POW, which had involved interviews with members of organisations among disadvantaged communities in the PWV area, international academics, students and staff at Wits, and even a meeting with the then-banned ANC in Lusaka, revealed that to many in the surrounding disadvantaged communities, there was a perception of Wits as an elitist institution dominated by white interests. A need was identified for further transformation of the university.
Post-apartheid: 1994 – present