UCT MPhil in Conservation of the Built Environment

Graduation! Such a rewarding time - celebrations!

New academic year is well underway! Introduction to Conservation block week was jam-packed with lectures, workshops, site visits and many of terrific questions! Thanks to students, guest lecturers and facilitators for a great week of engagement and learning.

2026 is off at a gallop! New incoming Year 1 students are registered and ready to go; Year 2s already have their research proposals underway; and... the final dissertation deadline for completing students is this weekend! That's a lot, enjoy! 😅

Congratulations to Tshifhiwa, Lindelo and Charl who have completed the final step of the MPhil CBE journey, with the mini-dissertation completed, examined, corrected and submitted!

Topics, all very worthy of study, are:
*Youth's Perceptions of Negative Heritage and its Impact. Case Study: The Main Barracks, Langa Former Migrant Workers' Hostel (Tshifhiwa Tshinyalani);
*Violence, Memory, and Conservation. A Search for Significance Post-Apartheid: Case Study, Thokoza Hostels (Lindelo Nzuza);
*Post-Colonial Memory: Decolonising and Transforming Space through Visual Redress with the Old Main Building of Stellenbosch University (Charl Taljaardt)

Roll on graduation 2026! 🎓 💥 Well done guys, and big thanks to family and colleagues for support along the way 👏

Interested? Scan the QR code for programme info, and get in touch if you have any questions!

Scenes from Langa 2025: Guga S'thebe Cultural center, Lerotholi Avenue, the Beer Hall, Hostels to Homes conversions on Rhodes Street, the unconverted hostels, Zone 1, and Jungle Walk, with a church, a dog, and the home of the late activist Anni Silinga.

Another busy block week complete, fieldwork in Langa and Maitland Garden Village, workshop projects, visit to the Cape Archive and thinking exercises at Prestwich Memorial. Much hard work... and lots of fun! Thank you, as ever, to great guest lecturers and facilitators.

Want to know more about the MPhil in Conservation of the Built Environment? Join us online this Thursday at 1pm!

Another great block week completed - Critical Issues in Heritage Studies - with site visits to Company's Gardens, the Slave Lodge, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, and compelling guided talks!