SMU is Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University in Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria. The contact details below were read from smu.ac.za on 2 September 2026.
Official contact channels
- Switchboard: 012 521 5759, 012 521 5760, 012 521 4464 or 012 521 5060
- Fax: 012 560 0086
Four switchboard numbers, and it is worth trying more than one. SMU publishes all four as its main lines, so a number that rings unanswered is not necessarily the wrong one – work down the list before assuming the university is unreachable.
012 560 0086 is a fax, published directly beneath the telephone numbers. SMU publishes no single general email address – it routes enquiries through named contact directories instead.
Admissions and student support
SMU publishes separate contact directories rather than one enquiries desk. Its contacts page links to:
- Application enquiries – a full list of admissions contacts
- The Deputy Registrar, for registry and student record matters
- School and Dean contacts, per school
- Unit and staff directories, and an SMU Directory of Experts
- ICT student support, for the student portal and mySMU
- Library contacts and the University Legal Services Unit
- Research contacts, research output contacts, and SMUREC, the research ethics committee
Go to the application enquiries directory rather than the switchboard for admissions. The switchboard will refer you there anyway, and applications at a health sciences university are programme-specific with limited places and their own closing dates.
If you are doing research involving human participants at SMU, SMUREC approval is a prerequisite, not a formality – it must be obtained before the research begins, not written up afterwards.
Campus and address information
- Physical: Molotlegi Street, Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, Gauteng
- Postal: Registry, PO Box 60, Medunsa 0204
The postal address says Medunsa, and that is correct. SMU was previously the Medical University of Southern Africa, and the postal code area still carries the old name – post addressed to “Medunsa 0204” reaches the university. Address it to the Registry.
The campus is in Ga-Rankuwa, north-west of Pretoria, adjacent to Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, rather than in Pretoria itself – allow for the distance when planning a visit.
Escalation routes
Take an academic matter to the school and then the Dean, and a registration or student record matter to the Registry through the Deputy Registrar, keeping your student number and dates. SMU runs a University Legal Services Unit whose contact it publishes.
Beyond the university, a complaint about a public higher education institution goes to the Department of Higher Education and Training, maladministration to the Public Protector, and an NSFAS funding decision back to NSFAS rather than to SMU.
Because SMU trains health professionals, a complaint about clinical conduct during training may also involve the Health Professions Council of South Africa or the South African Nursing Council, depending on the profession.
Sources
- smu.ac.za contacts page, read 2 September 2026