If you have been searching for the UCT student portal and landing on pages that tell you to log into Vula, stop. Vula no longer exists. UCT shut it down on 31 December 2025 and replaced it with a new platform called Amathuba.
That is one of two things this article is going to clear up. The other is that UCT actually has two separate systems that students regularly confuse for each other. PeopleSoft handles your academic administration. Amathuba handles your course content and learning. You need both, but you use them for completely different things.
The Two UCT Student Systems and What Each One Does
PeopleSoft at studentsonline.uct.ac.za is the administrative portal. This is where you check your course registration, view your fee account and financial details, access your end-of-year results, download your academic transcript, and update your personal contact details. If something administrative needs to happen, it happens here.
Amathuba at amathuba.uct.ac.za is the learning management system. This is where you access lecture notes, course materials, assignment submissions, online tests, and announcements from your lecturers. If something academic and course-related needs to happen, it happens here.
Both systems use your UCT credentials to log in, which is the same username and password. But they are separate platforms with separate purposes and separate URLs.
Your UCT Username and What It Looks Like
Before you log into either system, you need to know your UCT username format because it is not your student number in the traditional sense.
UCT usernames follow a specific format made up of six letters and three digits, for example SMTJOH001. This is derived from your surname and initials. The same string is your username and the local part of your UCT email address at myuct.ac.za. So if your username is SMTJOH001, your UCT email is SMTJOH001@myuct.ac.za.
Your username is on your admission letter and on any official correspondence from UCT. If you cannot find it, contact the UCT Student Systems Support team.
How to Log Into PeopleSoft
Go to studentsonline.uct.ac.za in your browser.
On the login page, enter your UCT username and your network password. Click Sign In. Once you are inside, your dashboard gives you access to your course registration details, fee account, academic record, timetable, and results.
If this is your first time logging in, your initial password is typically your date of birth in the format YYYYMMDD. You will be prompted to change it immediately after your first login. Do that before doing anything else and choose a password you will actually remember.
How to Log Into Amathuba
Go to amathuba.uct.ac.za.
Amathuba uses UCT's Single Sign-On system, so you log in with the same UCT username and network password you use for PeopleSoft. Once inside, your enrolled courses appear on your dashboard. Click on any course to access the materials, announcements, and assignment submission links your lecturer has set up.
If your courses are not appearing after you log in, give it a day or two at the start of semester. Lecturers publish their course shells at different times and some are not visible until the first week of lectures.
Setting Up Your Password for the First Time
All UCT password management goes through password.uct.ac.za. This is the Password Self-Service tool and it is the only place you go for anything password related. UCT's Service Desk cannot reset your password for you. The entire process is self-service.