UKZN Residence and Accommodation

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has residences on its Edgewood, Howard College, Medical School, Pietermaritzburg and Westville campuses. Competition for places is keen, and UKZN cannot accept all applicants. The details below come from UKZN's 2027 undergraduate prospectus.

How to apply

You indicate that you need residence accommodation on your CAO application form. For UKZN, no further application forms are required.

Edgewood Campus

Edgewood has self-catering accommodation in eleven residences for 631 students. Men and women are housed separately, and both double and single rooms are available. All residences have access control doors, and five flats for five students each are available for postgraduate students.

Howard College and Medical School

These residences house 1,701 students in two halls:

• Charles Smith Hall: 12 residences close to the main academic buildings, shops and Medical School
• Albert Luthuli Hall: the Cluster Residence and the six-storey Tower Residence, furthest from the academic buildings but close to the sports fields

All residences have access control, lounges and TV rooms, intercoms and parking. Students live in single rooms, and residences are self-catering with a limited cafeteria. Scully House and Postgraduate House offer limited postgraduate accommodation. Off campus, St Hillier offers furnished flats in Umbilo, and JV Smit is a catering residence with 94 single rooms, both near Medical School and on a bus route to Howard College.

Pietermaritzburg

Four halls house 1,640 students. Petrie Hall is mainly for first- and second-year women, William O'Brien Hall is for men with single rooms and communal kitchens, and Malherbe and Denison Halls house both men and women in separate areas.

What it costs

UKZN estimates that a year in 2027 costs about R85,000 for tuition, a bed in residence and food. You also need money for books, transport, laundry, personal costs and accommodation during short vacations.

Paying

For international students, tuition and residence fees are payable in full before registration. Self-funded South African students can use UKZN's debit order facility after an initial deposit. Read more on the UKZN fees page.

If you do not get a place

Because UKZN cannot house everyone, have a back-up plan, such as private accommodation near your campus. If you are NSFAS-funded, ask the Student Housing office which private options NSFAS will pay for.

Choose the right campus

You live on or near the campus where your programme is taught. Education is at Edgewood, Medicine at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, and most other fields at Howard College, Westville or Pietermaritzburg.