About U3A

WHAT IS U3A?

The University of the Third Age (U3A) is a worldwide organisation for people who have reached the age beyond formal education (Age 1) and full-time work (Age 2) and who wish to pursue their interests and share their knowledge with others. No qualifications are needed and none are given. Its origins were in France in 1973 at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Toulouse but it soon escaped its academic background and developed in the UK as a movement to encourage groups of people in their ‘third age’ to come together and continue their enjoyment of learning. It reached South Africa in the 1990’s and there are now more than 30 branches across the country.