Honours degrees & postgraduate diplomas

Honours degrees & postgraduate diplomas

Everyone wanting to begin a new qualification must apply for admission, including first-time Unisa applicants, Unisa students changing to a new qualification and/or changing the specialization of their current qualification, and applicants in their final year of an undergraduate qualification who wish to continue with postgraduate studies.

All applications for admission must be submitted online. No self-help stations will be available for applications at the regional offices.
Admission to a qualification is not automatic. It will depend on whether you comply with the admission requirements and if space is available.
Only complete applications (application fee paid, if applicable, and all supporting documents successfully uploaded) will be processed.
Students who obtain qualifications outside the borders of South Africa must have their qualifications evaluated by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and upload a SAQA certificate of evaluation during the application process (https://www.saqa.org.za).

Please note:

If you are a first-time Unisa applicant and do not have a myLife e-mail address, Unisa will communicate with you via the e-mail address and cellphone number you provided during the application period.
If you were previously registered with Unisa, Unisa will send the outcome of your application to your myLife e-mail account. Please check this e-mail account regularly for information. If you have forgotten your myUnisa/myLife password, please go to myUnisa (https://my.unisa.ac.za) to update your password.
Unisa provides all registered students with a free myLife e-mail address. It is your responsibility to activate your myLife e-mail account as soon as your registration is finalized. Your myLife e-mail account will be the only e-mail account recognized by Unisa for official correspondence to and from the university and will remain the official primary e-mail address on record at Unisa. Click here for Unisa’s rules for students.

Unisa is known as a provider of fair and equitable access to higher education opportunities. Flowing from its social responsibility to address past inequalities, Unisa has an application and selection process that effectively addresses historical imbalances without sacrificing quality standards.

This process promotes focused attention toward improved student support, and the alignment of our new student intake with the available academic capacity and required infrastructure to maximize all students’ chances of success.

What does this Application process entail?

Unisa will assess your application according to the academic admission requirements of your qualification(s) of choice and the final mark obtained for your major subjects at the third-year undergraduate level. If you do not meet these requirements, your application will be rejected. You will be provided with the reason why your application was rejected and/or a way forward. Please note that meeting the minimum admission requirements is not a guarantee that you will be admitted to a higher-level qualification (postgraduate diploma or honors degree), as spaces are limited.

How does the application process work?

You may apply for a maximum of two qualifications, ranked in order of preference (although you may only register for one should both of your applications be successful).
You are advised to select two qualifications when submitting your application. Adding a second qualification after you have already submitted your application may cause delays in processing your application. If you applied for one qualification and want to add a second honors degree or postgraduate diploma option, please send an e-mail to pgd@unisa.ac.za
Remember to include your student number in the subject line of your e-mail.
Students who obtain qualifications outside the borders of South Africa must have their qualifications evaluated by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and upload a SAQA certificate of evaluation during the application process (https://www.saqa.org.za). If the SAQA certificate is not available at the time of the application period, a student may apply without the application and, if accepted, will be able to register and submit the SAQA certificate before the end of the academic year.
Unisa will inform you of the outcome of your application.
Spaces for some qualifications are limited and offers will only be made once all the applications received have been processed. In such cases, your application will be processed and you will be informed that your application for your qualification of choice is subject to enrolment management.
First-time applicants to Unisa must complete the First-Year Experience MOOC (FYE massive open online course). You will not be able to accept Unisa’s offer if you have not yet completed Unisa’s free online MOOC.
You must accept or decline Unisa’s offer within the prescribed period of time.
You may only accept one offer. If you accept an offer, the other application for admission/offer will automatically fall away.
If you accept Unisa’s offer for the 2024 academic year, you may only register for the qualification and specialization for which you received an offer. You may also only register for the 2024 academic year. Should you decide not to register for the 2024 academic year for any reason, you will need to apply for admission during the next application period.

Please note: The University of South Africa reserves the right to withdraw any offer for admission to the 2024 academic year should it be found that you do not meet the statutory, college, and/or minimum admission requirements for the qualification to which you have been admitted. In such a case, if you are already registered, the university will refund any registration fees paid towards said qualification.

Who must apply for admission?

Everyone wanting to start a new qualification must apply for admission. This includes

first-time Unisa applicants.
Unisa students changing to a new qualification and/or changing the specialization of a current qualification.
applicants in their final year of an undergraduate qualification who wish to continue with postgraduate studies.

Please note: You must apply for admission if you previously applied for admission and were offered a space, but did not register for any reason. Should you experience any system error issue when submitting your application, please send an e-mail, together with a screenshot of the error message, to the relevant college e-mail address. Remember to always include your student number in the subject line of your e-mail.

What do I need to apply?

You need to check that you qualify for admission and that you have the necessary documents ready to upload during the application process.

that I meet the statutory and college admission requirements for my qualification(s) of choice.
that I have a valid e-mail address and cellphone number, and I accept that Unisa will communicate with me during the application process using this e-mail address and cellphone number.
* Please provide only one e-mail address and one cellphone number during the application process.
** If you previously studied through Unisa, Unisa will communicate with you via your myLife e-mail address.

Documents needed for Applying.

All applicants starting a new qualification must upload all the required documents:

Copy of your official tertiary academic record(s) (if applicable) stating all the years of registration, modules passed and percentages obtained (internet copies will not be accepted)
* International students must also upload a copy of the university ledger.
** Students who obtained qualifications outside the borders of South Africa must have their qualifications evaluated by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and upload a SAQA certificate of evaluation during the application process (https://www.saqa.org.za). If, however, the SAQA certificate is not available at the time of the application period, a student may apply without it and if accepted submit it by the end of the academic year.
*** Final-year students (excluding Unisa students) who do not yet have an official academic record indicating completion of qualification must upload the official academic record to Unisa or submit it via e-mail to the relevant college e-mail address before the close of the application period. Please use the e-mail address of the college under which your qualification resides (eg if you choose the Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting Sciences, you should use the cashons@unisa.ac.za e-mail address). Submission after this date could delay the processing of your application.
Copy of your ID document (RSA students) or a valid passport (international students)
Copy of your marriage certificate (if applicable) or divorce decree (if applicable)
Sworn translations of documents if they are not in English or Afrikaans

Some qualifications may require additional documents. Unisa reserves the right to request original documents and/or to verify the correctness of submitted documents at any time. Submitting fraudulent documents is an offense in terms of the Student Disciplinary Code.

Apply Online

Applicants can apply Online using the Online Application tool. Kindly note that you must apply for admission for a new qualification. If you qualify for admission, and if offered a space, you must accept the offer within the prescribed period before you will be able to register.

RELATED LINKS

For more information on the University of South Africa Online Application, please click here