Stellenbosch University halls of residence

Stellenbosch University (SU) (Afrikaans: Universiteit Stellenbosch, Xhosa: iYunivesithi yaseStellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch University received full university status in 1918 and is known for designing and manufacturing Africa's first microsatellite, SUNSAT, launched in 1999. Stellenbosch is organised in 139 departments across 10 faculties offering bachelor's (NQF 7) to doctoral degrees (NQF 10) in the English and Afrikaans languages. Across five campuses in the Western Cape, the university is home to 32,000 students. The students of Stellenbosch University are nicknamed "Maties". Although the source of the term is unknown, it likely arises from the Afrikaans word "tamatie" (meaning tomato, and referring to the maroon sports uniforms and blazer colour). An alternative theory is that the term comes from the Afrikaans colloquialism maat (meaning "buddy" or "mate"), originally used diminutively ("maatjie") by the students of the University of Cape Town's precursor, the South African College.