Incorporating the former Technikon Free State and Vista University's Welkom campus, the university is based in Bloemfontein. It has a regional learning centres in Welkom and Kimberly in the Northern Cape. Almost 50 programmes are offered in three faculties: management sciences; engineering, information and communication technology; and health and environmental sciences.

Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) is the foremost higher education institution in the heartland of South Africa, dedicated to quality education and training in science, engineering and technology. CUT has developed into a leading institution able to take its place on the national, as well as international, higher education landscape.

CUT, then still known as the Technikon Free State, opened its doors in 1981 with 285 students enrolled in mainly secretarial, art and design programmes. With the restructuring of the higher education landscape a few years ago, CUT embraced its new status as a university of technology and thus positioned itself to succeed as such. On 26 March 2004 the former Technikon Free State officially exchanged its “technikon” status for a tailor-made identity when its new name was published in the Government Gazette – a name that is a true reflection of what the university stands for: Central University of Technology, Free State.

CUT’s history, from its humble beginnings to the proud institution it is today, is reflected in its buildings. The unoccupied buildings of the Commercial High School in St George Street, leased in 1981, soon became too small and a second building in President Brand Street was occupied. In 1988 the university purchased the former premises of the Eunice Primary School campus of the Bloemfontein College of Education. Before long these were followed by the Main Building (today known as ZR Mahabane Building); the bhpBilliton Building, which houses a large portion of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology; Dirk Coetzee Building, which houses the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences; Prosperitas Auditorium, as well as Boet Troskie Hall; and a modern Library and Information Service. Lapeng Student Centre is a hub of student activity that not only renders a valuable service with regard to the students’ requirements, but also ensures that they enjoy every aspect of student life to the full. This centre is equipped with an amphitheatre as well as a cafeteria where students can socialise.