SACAP (South African College of Applied Psychology)

The South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP) is a leading private higher education institution specialising in applied psychology, counselling, social work, and management and leadership. It was founded in 1997 by clinical psychologist Marc Feitelberg, who started the college with just 18 students in a cottage in the Cape Town suburb of Wynberg, modelling it in part on the Australian College of Applied Psychology. Today SACAP has purpose-designed campuses in each of South Africa’s four main urban centres – Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban – plus a thriving online campus, and educates around 3,000 students nationally.

SACAP is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a Private Higher Education Institution (registration number 2005/HE07/001), with qualifications accredited by the Council on Higher Education and registered on the National Qualifications Framework by SAQA. Its offering spans higher certificates, diplomas, undergraduate degrees and postgraduate programmes up to master’s level, across faculties of Applied Psychology, Community Development and Social Work, and Management and Leadership. Notably, its four-year Bachelor of Psychology and BPsych Equivalent programmes are endorsed by the Health Professions Council of South Africa and lead to registration as a Registered Counsellor, and the college trains both registered counsellors and social workers.

A long-standing proponent of work-integrated learning, SACAP has placed thousands of students in workplace and community settings, providing grassroots mental-health services while building graduates’ real-world readiness. Its person-centred approach, small class sizes and supportive environment have made it one of South Africa’s foremost niche private institutions. Full programme, fee and admissions details are available directly from the institution.