The Council of the University of Natal voted on 31 May 2002 to offer the post of Vice-Chancellor and University Principal to world-renowned medical scientist and former Medical Research Council President – Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, who assumed office on 1 September 2002.

Makgoba is said to have created a "culture of hostility"[9] at the university that resulted in an exodus of world-class academics.

[10] He was succeeded by Dr Albert van Jaarsveld.The university is governed in accordance with the Higher Education Act of 1997,[11] and its constitution is specified in the Statute of the University of KwaZulu-Natal,[12] as approved by the South African Minister of Education and the Parliament of South Africa.

The university is geographically divided into five distinct campuses,[16] which partially correspond to its managerial and academic divisions.

The College of Humanities and College of Law and Management are also positioned on this campus together with the Centre For Creative Arts (CCA) and the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre which host annually the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), Poetry Africa, Time of the Writer and the creative dance festival JOMBA!

Westville offers a range of degrees, and will soon be the main home of the disciplines of commerce and management.

[16] Nelson Mandela medical school campus, created in 1950, was originally a racially segregated part of the University of Natal reserved for non-white students.

The buildings originally formed the Edgewood College of Education, which was incorporated into the University of Natal in 2001.

[16] UKZN is home to various student organizations such as debating unions, film clubs, poetry societies, and sports teams.

It coordinates several respected annual festivals, providing students with access to creative platforms and interesting opportunities aimed at developing their artistic talents.

The four main festivals organized by the UKZN CCA are: The UKZN Time of the Writer festival invites international authors to take place in a variety of roundtable discussions, readings, seminars, book launches, and developmental programmes such as workshops, master classes and motivational talks.

It was ranked first in Sub-Saharan Africa in Q4 2020 by the amount of venture capital funding raised by Unicorn startups founded by UKZN's alumni.