A strong international dimension has always been and is increasingly becoming an essential ingredient of the university. This article investigates the state of and prospects for internationalisation of an extremely peripheral and historically marginalised South African university. Questionnaires and semistructured interviews with academic and administrative staff were employed. Although the level of internationalisation of the university appears higher than what the university's geographical location and history might suggest, it has a long way to go. Although there is unanimity as to the importance and need for more internationalisation, there appears to be widespread uncertainty amongst academicians and administrators regarding what internationalisation means in their immediate work and what should be done to advance internationalisation. The article concludes with the recommendation that an institutional policy and plan for internationalisation should be set in place, and that comparative educational research should play a key role in informing such a policy and plan. (Contains 1 note.)