Nestling between the mountains of the Boland, in the heart of the winelands, lies the picturesque university town of Stellenbosch. The University of Stellenbosch traces its origin back to the opening of the Stellenbosch Gymnasium in 1866. The Gymnasium subsequently gave birth to the “Arts Department” which became “Stellenbosch College” in 1881. In 1887, the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria’s reign, the Stellenbosch College was transformed into the “Victoria College” in honour of the Queen. The possibility of the establishment of a single national university in Cape Town after the unification of South Africa, seriously threatened the continued existence of the College and the status of Dutch as an official language of the Cape Colony. The Victoria College, however, was not prepared to give up its heritage. By April 1918 it had managed to convince the government of the need for the institution, and Victoria College then became the University of Stellenbosch.

At the centre of Stellenbosch, at the corner of Victoria Street and Ryneveld Street, is the Old Main Building, home to the Stellenbosch Faculty of Law. Inaugurated in 1886 as the main building of the Victoria College, this building also serves as a monument to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the town by Simon van der Stel in 1686.

The Stellenbosch Law Faculty itself was established in 1921. Initially the Faculty concentrated on LLB degrees, training and equipping students, not merely as legal practitioners, but also as jurists. Graduates of the Faculty include judges, advocates, attorneys, business people, politicians and academics. In 1976 the LLM degree (by thesis) was awarded for the first time to two students. The Law Faculty introduced the Master of Laws programme (LLM by course work) in 1994 and since then the degree has been awarded to 200 students. The LLM programme attracts students from far and wide. This includes a large German and Belgian contingent, students from Namibia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Scotland, Ghana, Eritrea and Zimbabwe. In 1999 a LLM programme in International Trade Law by distance education was introduced.