Monash South Africa

Monash University's South Africa campus was opened in 2001 as the first foreign university in South Africa. It is located on a 100 hectare site in Ruimsig in north-west Johannesburg, in the province of Gauteng.

It has expanded rapidly since its foundation. In its first intake, Monash South Africa took on just over 100 students. By 2007, there were over 1700 students, and the University is rapidly expanding the campus to keep up with a demand for places which is increasing by 35% per year. A new library and learning commons were opened in 2007. Initially, it taught only a limited range of undergraduate degrees. In 2006, honours programs were introduced, to be followed by Masters and PhD programs in 2008.

The University is also developing the campus' research capacity, with the ambition for it to become one of the most research-intensive universities in Africa. The campus is wholly-owned by Monash University and its expansion interestingly coincides with a general retreat by Australian universities from overseas campuses (such as the abandoned UNSW Singapore).

The student mix at Monash South Africa is diverse. In addition to domestic (South African) students, the campus is also home to many students from other African states who are funded by government bursaries. For example, a large number of students from Botswana attend the university. Furthermore, the number of students on exchange from Monash's Australian and Malaysian campuses makes it one of the most ethnically diverse universities in Africa. Many students live in the on-campus accommodation. [ [http://www.monash.ac.za/prospective/accommodation/ Accommodation, Monash South Africa ] ]

The current Pro Vice-Chancellor of the South Africa campus is Professor Tyrone Pretorius, a psychologist who has previously held research and administrative positions at the University of the Western Cape and Yale University. [ [http://www.monash.edu.au/about/pretorius.html Pro Vice-Chancellor, Monash South Africa, Monash University ] ]

Courses

Monash University South Africa offers undergraduate courses in three faculties. In 2008, Masters and PhD programs will be introduced. Currently, the faculties at Monash South Africa are:

*Faculty of Arts
*Faculty of Business and Economics
*Faculty of Information Technology

In addition to its undergraduate and postgraduate education, Monash South Africa also runs a well-known, highly sought-after film and television program, [ [http://www.monash.edu.au/news/newsline/story/906 Monash Newsline (Monash University) ] ] the only one of its kind in Gauteng province.

Location

The campus is located in Ruimsig, which is 25km north-west of Johannesburg. It is a purpose-built, greenfields, 100 hectare campus, which contains among the most modern and state of the art technologies of any Monash University campus. The campus also has extensive sporting facilities, including basketball and volleyball courts, and a field for rugby, soccer and hockey. [ [http://www.monash.ac.za/about/facilities.html Campus facilities and services, Monash South Africa ] ]

The establishment of the campus has led to significant development in the local area, with several shopping centres, sporting and leisure facilities opening since 2001. The local area also contains substantial accommodation for those students who do not live on-campus.

References

External links

* [http://www.monash.ac.za/ Official Site]