The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (abbreviated as PU for CHE) was a South African

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

located in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

. Instruction was mainly in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

. In 2004, the university was merged with other institutions to create the

North-West University The North-West University (NWU) is a public research university located on three campuses in Potchefstroom, Mahikeng and Vanderbijlpark in South Africa. The university came into existence through the merger in 2004 of the Potchefstroom Univer ...

History

Founded

Potchefstroom University developed out of the Theological School of the

Reformed Churches Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian ...

in South Africa ('' Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika'' in

, abbreviated as ''GKSA''), which was founded on 29 November 1869 in

Burgersdorp Burgersdorp is a medium-sized town in Walter Sisulu in the Joe Gqabi District Municipality of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. In 1869 a Theological Seminary was established here by the '' Gereformeerde Kerk'', but in 1905 it was mov ...

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

. At the founding meeting, it was decided that education would also be offered to prospective teachers and to persons without any particular profession in mind.

Progression

Initially, there were only five students and two lecturers. In 1877 a "Literary Department" was established, with one

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

, with the specific aim of educating students for academic degrees or as teachers. In 1905, the Theological School, including the Literary Department, was transferred from Burgersdorp to Potchefstroom in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

. In order to qualify for government subsidies, the Literary Department was separated from the Theological School in 1919 and the Potchefstroom University College for Christian Higher Education (''Het Potchefstroom Universiteitskollege voor Christelijk Hooger Onderwijs'' in Dutch, and usually abbreviated as PUK) came into being. It was decided that the PUK would be a higher education institute separate and independent from the GKSA, although the PUK would continue to train GKSA ministers. In 1921, the Potchefstroom University College (without the "for Christian Higher Education" suffix), was incorporated into the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

; the PUK only got the "for Christian Higher Education" part of its name back in 1933.

Independent university

The Potchefstroom University College for Christian Higher Education was officially recognised as an independent university and was renamed the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education in 1951.

Changes through the years

In 1993, Private Law status was established. In 1998, the statutes of the PUK were amended in order to enable her to better fulfill her role as part of the co-ordinated higher education system in South Africa according to her original mandate as an institution of Christian higher education. The Vaal Triangle Campus of the university was established in Vanderbijlpark in 1966 in order to provide that area with tertiary education. By 1996, the first online courses were offered. Students were offered interactive courses, the systematic application of multimedia. To facilitate the learning process, over 25 study centres were established country-wide. On 1 January 2000, the Potchefstroom Onderwyskollege was incorporated with the Potchefstroom University's Potchefstroom campus.

Partnerships and research

*The university was on a lecturer exchange programme with The

Vrije Universiteit The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the othe ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, The Netherlands *Prior to 1994 there were only two universities in South Africa where students could obtain a Baccalaureus degree in Pharmacy. It was at

Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...

Grahamstown Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...

and here. These two universities did worldwide recognised research together and separately in the fields of pharmacy and chemistry. *In 1997 George Whitefield College, became affiliated with the university.

Name change and expanding

In 2004 the Potchefstroom University became one of the three campuses of the new

, the others being in Mafikeng (name later changed to Mahikeng) and Vaal (situated in Vanderbijlpark). The fourth campus, Mankwe, was closed by end of 2004.

Rector

Chancellor

Notable alumni

Politics

* Frederik Willem de Klerk, State President of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

(1989–1994); Vice President of South Africa (1994–1996) *

Marike de Klerk Marike de Klerk ( Willemse; 29 March 1937 – 3 December 2001) was the First Lady of South Africa, as the wife of State President Frederik Willem de Klerk, from 1989–1994. She was also a politician of the former governing National Party in ...

, former first lady of South Africa and leader of the National Party's women's wing. She studied commerce at the university. *

Pieter Mulder Pieter Willem Adriaan Mulder (born 26 July 1951) is a South African politician and the former leader of the Freedom Front Plus. He served as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (South Africa), Minister of Agriculture, Fore ...

a South African politician and former leader of the

Freedom Front Plus The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus or FF+; , ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Corné Mulder. Since 2024, it is a part of the current South African Third Cabin ...

. *

Johan Heyns Johan Adam Heyns (1928–1994) was an Afrikaner Calvinist theologian and moderator of the general synod of the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK) in South Africa. He was assassinated at his home in Waterkloof Ridge, Pretoria. Early life an ...

an influential

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and moderator of the general synod of the

Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NGK) is a Reformed Christian denomination in South Africa. It also has a presence in neighbouring countries, such as Namibia, Eswatini, and parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

(NGK). He played a role in dismantling support for

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

in the NGK. * Niekie van den Berg, past DA parliamentarian and an-ex radio personality. * Dr Johan van Zyl, former CEO of

Sanlam Sanlam Limited is a South African financial services group headquartered in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. Sanlam is one of the largest insurance companies in Africa. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock ...

Academia

Tomasz Kamusella Tomasz Kamusella (born 24 December 1967) is a Polish scholar pursuing interdisciplinary research in language politics, nationalism, and ethnicity. Education Kamusella was educated at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Faculty of Philolog ...

, Reader in Modern History at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

* Johan D. van der Vyver, I.T. Cohen Professor of International Law at

Emory University School of Law Emory University School of Law is the law school of Emory University, a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1916 and was the first law school in Georgia to be granted membership in the American Association of Law ...

Music

* Erica Eloff, singer. * Rina Hugo, singer received her B.Mus. degree in 1970. She was a member of the "Alabama Studentegeselskap". She performed in all genres as soloist:

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

Oratorium An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishabl ...

Operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

Musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

and popular Afrikaans music. * Christa Steyn, † 11 Junie 2012 in Pretoria, also past member of "Alabama Studentegeselskap"; a composer, pianist and Afrikaans singer known for her duette with Jannie du Toit. * Kobie van Rensburg is an international

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

who currently operates from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He was a member of the Potchefstroom University Choir (1987–1994). * Martin Watt a South African composer.

Sport

* Andre Markgraaff, South African rugby union lock, and controversial Springbok coach. He was also in charge of the PUK rugby Institute started in 2000. * Henno Mentz is a former Springbok rugby player. * Godfrey Khotso Mokoena, silver medal winner in long jump at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. * Justine Robbeson a South African athlete who specialises in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

Business

* Douw Steyn (born 1952), South African billionaire businessman

Writers

* Cor Dirks, youth male writer of youth books, like "Die Uile" series

References

{{Authority control Universities in North West (South African province) Universities and colleges established in 1869 North-West University 1869 establishments in the South African Republic