University Of Cape Town Business Management
The School of Management Studies is a vibrant and interdisciplinary department in the Faculty of Commerce. Originally established in 1964 along with the Bachelor of Business Science degree, the department was initially created as the Department of Business Science, taking primary responsibility for the convening and development of this prestigious 4-year degree.
Three decades later, in 1994, this successful and expanding department was re-named the School of Management Studies, incorporating several academic disciplines in a variety of sections. Each section is involved in a range of both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, diplomas and courses. While enjoying close and collegial alignment and integration under the banner of the School, the diverse sections have the freedom and responsibility to manage their own affairs, both administrative and academic. As can be seen below, it is this very diversity that makes the School unique in the tertiary educational landscape of South Africa and is one of its core strengths.
Each section and unit in the School makes a strong contribution to the academic affairs of the Faculty as a whole and, at an undergraduate level, particularly to the Business Science degree and the B Com in Management Studies. There is a strong emphasis on research as well as teaching and learning, with staff actively engaged in related activities both on and off campus.
Another three decades later, the School is spearheading more changes and trajectories with its blended learning models. In partnership with Getsmarter, a high-touch online educational business, co-founded by two of UCTs alumni, new courses and postgraduate programmes are being collaboratively developed. Seeking to provide more opportunities for students to obtain a UCT Commerce qualification via ‘click’ if not ‘brick’ (or only partly so!), the School has piloted various courses online with great success and seeks to expand this (ad)venture ‘Across Africa’.
The School currently comprises the following sections and units:
- Actuarial Science (including CARE)
- Applied Management
- Marketing (Including the Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing)
- Organisational Psychology (including the IME)
- Professional Communication Unit (PCU)