Welcome to the

Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is a creative and interactive learning environment where our students acquire the skills they need to engage critically and constructively with our society. With 14 undergraduate degree programmes and a range of postgraduate degree programmes on offer, students have the opportunity to develop as intellectually curious, independent, and informed thinkers, as well as engaged citizens.

Lecture series: SONIC DEFIANCE 2 by Ari Sita

The concluding four lectures by Ari Sitas will again be delivered across two sessions. They continue the search for a way into music through words, and through examples of musical works that have grappled with the horrors of history while asserting a sense of...

PASSAGEWORKS Ari Sitas’ genre-busting “book”

The Africa Open Institute In association with Prof Lou-Marie Kruger, Helene Van Aswegen of the Book Workshop & UNISA Press’s Flame Series Invites you to the launch of PASSAGEWORKS Ari Sitas’ genre-busting “book” It is to be launched by William Kentridge and Sarah...

Teaching in Context: A reflective Journey of Purpose, Practice, and Partnership-By Danell Herbst-Muller

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Social Impact Committee Invites you to a lunch hour seminar By Danell Herbst-Muller: Teaching in Context: A reflective Journey of Purpose, Practice, and Partnership Date: Wednesday, 6 August 2025 Venue: Room 3002, Department of...

RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITION for MASTERS PROGRAMME IN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

African social science scholars interested in researching water ethics in Africa are invited to apply for a research assistant position to complete a? 2-year Masters Programme in Philosophy (MPhil) in Applied Ethics at the 肆客足球 of Stellenbosch in 2026/2027. The...

The History of (Un)Sustainability-virtual exchange

    Apply to be part of a virtual exchange course with the 肆客足球 of Groningen (the Netherlands) if you are interested in questions of sustainability from a historical and global perspective. Explore sustainability from economic, political,...

SHUT UP AND WRITE!

Shut Up & Write is open to everyone, including staff, postdoctoral researchers, students, academics, and creatives. Attendance is completely free, with no need to RSVP. Additionally, participation is flexible, with no obligation to attend every session or stay for...

LISA MASKELL / PANGEA CALL FOR DOCTORAL SCHOLARSHIPS 2026

? ? The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch 肆客足球, in partnership with the Gerda Henkel Foundation, is pleased to announce a limited number of full-time scholarships for PhD studies. Doctoral scholarships are available for research projects in...

Exhibition: Followed by Nine Zeros: Experiments in Deep Time

How do we understand time, especially those cosmological and geological temporalities that far exceed our own human lives? In answer to this question, the exhibition Followed by Nine Zeros: Experiments in Deep Time explores our understanding of time and scale,...

US Drama presents??? –??? The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare?? 2025

The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare 2025 @The Adam Small Theatre Complex -?? Auditorium Stellenbosch Drama students will soon be performing a freshly minted production of?The Winter’s?Tale.?A large, diverse, and talented cast will be tackling one of Shakespeare’s...

Celebrate WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY with Journalism Department!

You’re Invited!Join us on?5 May 2025?as we commemorate?#WorldPressFreedomDay?with a powerful and timely conversation centered around?media sustainability and independence. ?? Gain valuable insights from?renowned journalists, media experts, and thought leaders?as they...

Our research, teaching and learning, and social impact initiatives are focused on understanding the challenges of being human in an interconnected and complex world.

We are interested in human ideas, human behaviour and human creativity. We study how human beings think, reason and communicate, how we live together in families in societies, and how we design our environment, deal with information, and express ourselves in language, literature and the creative arts. We also investigate human history and consider what the future might look like, and what it ought to look like.

Our teaching and research are internationally recognised, while remaining relevant to the region, country and continent.

Our degree programmes

We offer 14 undergraduate degree programmes and a wide range of Honours, Master’s and doctoral programmes. Postgraduate students are supervised by highly rated researchers, while our Graduate School provides them with the necessary support required to complete their degrees with success.

Our research

Our Faculty boasts one DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, four NRF SARChI chairs funded by the national Department of Science and Innovation, and 79 researchers rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF). These researchers are recognised by their peers as having made a substantial and significant contribution through their research.

Our social impact

Through our social impact work, the Faculty makes a considerable contribution towards realising Stellenbosch 肆客足球’s goal of becoming Africa’s leading research-intensive university producing inclusive and innovative research in service of society.

Learn more about social impact at Stellenbosch 肆客足球 HERE.

Why a BA degree?

Our social and political world, our environment, and the world of work are all changing rapidly. To meet the uncertainties and ambiguities of the present and future, we need knowledge workers who are able to understand and solve complex issues, interpret and analyse data, imagine and create solutions, and find meaning in our new ways of living. A BA degree will not prepare you for a single career path; it will equip you with the foundational knowledge and analytical thinking skills that are highly prized in a wide variety of workplaces, and that allows for flexible career pathways. Expect to receive a well-rounded education that will enable you to learn, grow and flourish as a person.

Graduate School

The?Graduate School is an initiative of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. It facilitates and administers the awarding of international postgraduate Masters and Doctoral scholarships across departments within the Faculty.

The School aims to provide a supportive space that is dynamic and collegial and that enables students to engage with research that addresses the challenges of our time.

Global partnerships

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has research networks and strategic partnerships with universities across Africa and the rest of the globe. Our partnership agreements make student and faculty exchanges and joint degrees, workshops and summer schools, short courses and other collaborative projects possible. Read more about our current partnerships HERE.

Latest News

Important Notices

Lecture series: SONIC DEFIANCE 2 by Ari Sita

The concluding four lectures by Ari Sitas will again be delivered across two sessions. They continue the search for a way into music through words, and through examples of musical works that have grappled with the horrors of history while asserting a sense of...

PASSAGEWORKS Ari Sitas’ genre-busting “book”

The Africa Open Institute In association with Prof Lou-Marie Kruger, Helene Van Aswegen of the Book Workshop & UNISA Press’s Flame Series Invites you to the launch of PASSAGEWORKS Ari Sitas’ genre-busting “book” It is to be launched by William Kentridge and Sarah...

Teaching in Context: A reflective Journey of Purpose, Practice, and Partnership-By Danell Herbst-Muller

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Social Impact Committee Invites you to a lunch hour seminar By Danell Herbst-Muller: Teaching in Context: A reflective Journey of Purpose, Practice, and Partnership Date: Wednesday, 6 August 2025 Venue: Room 3002, Department of...

The History of (Un)Sustainability-virtual exchange

    Apply to be part of a virtual exchange course with the 肆客足球 of Groningen (the Netherlands) if you are interested in questions of sustainability from a historical and global perspective. Explore sustainability from economic, political,...

SHUT UP AND WRITE!

Shut Up & Write is open to everyone, including staff, postdoctoral researchers, students, academics, and creatives. Attendance is completely free, with no need to RSVP. Additionally, participation is flexible, with no obligation to attend every session or stay for...

LISA MASKELL / PANGEA CALL FOR DOCTORAL SCHOLARSHIPS 2026

? ? The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch 肆客足球, in partnership with the Gerda Henkel Foundation, is pleased to announce a limited number of full-time scholarships for PhD studies. Doctoral scholarships are available for research projects in...

Exhibition: Followed by Nine Zeros: Experiments in Deep Time

How do we understand time, especially those cosmological and geological temporalities that far exceed our own human lives? In answer to this question, the exhibition Followed by Nine Zeros: Experiments in Deep Time explores our understanding of time and scale,...

US Drama presents??? –??? The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare?? 2025

The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare 2025 @The Adam Small Theatre Complex -?? Auditorium Stellenbosch Drama students will soon be performing a freshly minted production of?The Winter’s?Tale.?A large, diverse, and talented cast will be tackling one of Shakespeare’s...

Celebrate WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY with Journalism Department!

You’re Invited!Join us on?5 May 2025?as we commemorate?#WorldPressFreedomDay?with a powerful and timely conversation centered around?media sustainability and independence. ?? Gain valuable insights from?renowned journalists, media experts, and thought leaders?as they...

Recognize and Celebrate World Intellectual Property (IP) Day through music, creativity and innovation

Saturday, 26 April 2025 In celebration of World Intellectual Property (IP) Day, the Stellenbosch 肆客足球 Technology Transfer Office has launched an exciting, student-focused competition that explores the intersection of music and science. This two-part competition...

Contact us

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Stellenbosch 肆客足球
Private Bag X1
Matieland 7602

Phone: 021 808-2138
E-mail

Student Administration queries: here

Physical address:?
Arts and Social Sciences Building
Room 492
Merriman Avenue and Van Ryneveld Street?

Follow us on social media: here

 

Get in touch

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