Monash South Africa

Monash South Africa

Type	Private university
Established	2001
Administrative staff	220 (80 academics)
Students	4,000
Location	Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Affiliations	Laureate International Universities, Monash University
Website	http://www.msa.ac.za/

Monash South Africa is a private university founded in 2001, located on a 100 hectare site in Ruimsig in north-west Johannesburg, in the province of Gauteng. The student mix at Monash South Africa is diverse. In addition to domestic (South African) students, it is also home to many students from other African countries. For example, a large number of students from Botswana attend. Furthermore, the number of students on exchange from Monash's Australian and Malaysian campuses makes it one of the most ethnically diverse education providers in Africa.

In August 2013, Monash South Africa announced that it will partner with Laureate Education.^[1] The current Academic President of the South Africa site is Professor Alwyn Louw and the CEO is Sharad Mehra.

History

Beginning in the 1990s, Monash University in Melbourne, Australia began an extensive internationalisation program. Vice-Chancellor at the time, David Robinson, aspired for Monash to have campuses on every continent.^[2] The University's Malaysia Campus was the first of these, with plans for an African offering developing in the late 1990s. In 2001, it became the first international university to gain registration to operate in South Africa.^[3]

The plan was initially opposed by some of the staff at Monash's Australian campuses, who were concerned that millions of dollars was being poured into overseas ventures, while staff were being made redundant in Australia.^[2]

The campus has expanded rapidly since its establishment in 2001. In its first intake, Monash South Africa took on just over 100 students. By 2008, there were over 2,200 students, and the operations are expanding 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. By 2012 a fully modernised sports precinct was built, which played host to the eventual Gauteng state champion Monash South Africa female basketball team, coached by Tomas Sanchez and Matthew Falvey. Initially, Monash South Africa taught only a limited range of undergraduate degrees. In 2006, honours programs were introduced. Monash South Africa is the only private institution to receive South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) accreditation for its accounting degree.

The University is also developing research capacity, developing research nodes in water, injury prevention and global movements. Its research output (various projects and scholarly publications) is increasing, with the ambition of becoming one of the most research-intensive sites in Africa.^[4]

Schools and Courses

Schools

Monash South Africa offers undergraduate courses in four schools. Currently, the schools at Monash South Africa are:

School of Business and Economics

Monash South Africa's School of Business and Economics forms part of the Monash Faculty of Business and Economics. The school offers undergraduate degrees in the following areas:^[5]

• Accounting
• Economics
• Management
• Marketing

School of Health Sciences

Monash South Africa's School of Health Sciences began operations in 2010. The school currently offers undergraduate degrees in the following areas:^[6]

• Health Science
• Psychology

School of Information Technology

• School of Information Technology Homepage

School of Social Sciences

Monash South Africa's School of Social Science offers undergraduate degrees in the following areas:^[7]

• African Studies
• Child and Youth Development
• Communications and Media Studies
• Criminology and Criminal Justice
• French Language and Studies
• Geography and Environmental Science
• International Studies
• Journalism
• Literary and Cultural Studies
• Philosophy
• Psychology¹
• Public Relations Practice
• Sociology

¹The Bachelor of Social Science with a major in psychology is accredited by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA).

Courses

Monash South Africa offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and short courses. Currently, the degrees and short courses on offer are:

Undergraduate

• Bachelor of Business Science^[8]
• Bachelor of Business Science (Accounting)^[9]
• Bachelor of Public Health^[9]
• Bachelor of Computer and Information Science^[10]
• Bachelor of Social Science^[11]
• Bachelor of Business Science (Honours)^[12]
• Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences (Honours)^[13]
• Bachelor of Social Science (Honours)^[14]

Postgraduate

• Master of International Business^[15]
• Master of Philosophy^[16]
• Master of Philosophy in Integrated Water Management^[17]

Pathway Programme

In addition, the location also offers a Higher Certificate in Higher Education Studies (HCHES)^[18] course for students who do not meet the minimum requirements for admission into the various undergraduate degrees on offer

Location

Monash South Africa is located in Ruimsig, which is 25 km north-west of central Johannesburg. It is a purpose-built, greenfield, 100 hectare campus, which contains among the most modern and state of the art technologies of any Monash location. It also has extensive sporting facilities, including basketball and volleyball courts, and a field for rugby, soccer and hockey.^[19]

Its establishment 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.

Governance and Administration

Monash South Africa Limited incorporated in Australia External Profit Company is registered with the Department of Education as a private higher education institution under the Higher Education Act of 1997. Registration number: 2000/HE10/002.^[20]

References

External links

• Official Site

Coordinates: 26°05′00″S 27°52′37″E / 26.08333°S 27.87694°E / -26.08333; 27.87694