page_title: Stellenbosch University
section_title: Student housing
hierarchical_section_title: Stellenbosch University / Student housing
caption_attribution_description: English: Dagbreek
context_page_description: Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Saharan Africa together with the University of Cape Town which received full university status on the same day in 1918. Stellenbosch University designed and manufactured Africa's first microsatellite, SUNSAT, launched in 1999.
  Stellenbosch University was the first African university to sign the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities.
  The students of Stellenbosch University are nicknamed "Maties". The term probably arises from the Afrikaans word "tamatie". An alternative theory is that the term comes from the Afrikaans colloquialism maat originally used diminutively by the students of the University of Cape Town's precursor, the South African College.
context_section_description: Stellenbosch has 34 residence halls in configurations for women only, men only and mixed gender. Each residence is supervised by a warden assisted by a House Committee of senior students. The House Committee assists students with security, maintenance, and social programs. Each residence incorporates a laundry room and a common living room. Residences for women have a communal lounge while several men's residences include a pub.
  The number of available rooms in university residences is limited, which requires some students to find private boarding. Students in private lodgings can join the Private Students' Organisation (PSO), also known as Private Wards. There are 6 PSO wards, and a student is assigned to one according to the location of their lodgings in Stellenbosch. Students who commute to the university are assigned to one of two mixed-gender wards. As of 2008, four new PSO wards had been commissioned. The oldest residence is Wilgenhof men's residence, established in 1903.
  The PSO wards are grouped into six clusters with nearby residences to form student communities (a seventh cluster is on the Tygerberg campus). For each of these clusters, a hub facility is being built, of which two have already been completed, namely amaMaties and Wimbledon. In this way, day students can enjoy the same benefits as residence students, such as mentor support, meals and a well-appointed place to go to between classes.
caption: An aerial view of the Dagbreek student residence hall at Stellenbosch University
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