Unisa’s application process

Applying for admission to a master’s or doctoral degree comes with these three steps below:

1. Apply for a student number (only applicable if you do not already have a formal Unisa student number).
2. Apply for admission.
3. Upload the compulsory supporting documents. These documents are displayed in red on the upload platform. 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, if available at the time of application (https://www.saqa.org.za). Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Kindly note that Unisa will accept applications based on the following criteria:

1. The suitability and viability of the intended research.
2. Adequate supervisory capacity and research expertise in the discipline or department.
3. An approved selection procedure that is in line with Unisa’s Policy on Equality and Diversity.

Check your documents & confirm that you are ready to apply

• I have a valid Unisa student number for a formal qualification.
• I have chosen the correct Unisa qualification.
• I meet the statutory and college admission requirements for my qualification of choice.

Please note: If you intend to apply for admission to a qualification offered by the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, please contact the college before submitting your application, as you require a letter of permission from the college/department to be uploaded as part of your application.

• I have prepared a research outline in line with the departmental focus/niche area requirements and the guidelines provided. Uploading a research outline is applicable to all qualifications, except for the MBA, MBL, coursework LLMs, and coursework MCom in Industrial Psychology.
• I am familiar with the Unisa Policy for Copyright infringement and Plagiarism.
• 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 ensure that you provide only one e-mail address and one cellphone number during the application process.
• I understand that if I was previously registered at Unisa, Unisa will only use my myLife email address to communicate with me.

*    If you do not have an e-mail address, you may create a free e-mail address via Gmail before you start the application process.
**  Remember to save your e-mail address and password.
*** It is very important that you check your e-mails regularly for communication from Unisa about your application. 

  I have the following documents scanned & uploaded to an electronic device

You must upload all the necessary supporting documents as part of the online application process. E-mailed documents will not be accepted. You will have 10 working days from when you apply to upload your supporting documents. The 10 days do not apply after the closing date for applications.

If you do not upload the necessary supporting documents within 10 days of submitting your application for admission, your application will be declined. You will then need to re-apply for admission and upload the necessary supporting documents before the closing date for applications should you wish to be considered for admission to the 2024 academic year.

• Copies of all official academic records, including all papers/modules passed, percentages obtained, and the ledger (grading scale). Unisa academic records do not have to be uploaded.
• SAQA certificate of evaluation if your qualification(s) has/have been obtained outside the borders of South Africa. (You may apply without uploading the SAQA certificate). The certificate can be uploaded later or emailed to mandd@unisa.ac.za.
• A copy of your ID or valid passport.
• A research outline, CV, and any additional documents as indicated in the admission requirements for the specific qualification.
• If you applied via Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), a letter stating that you may be considered for the qualification without meeting the formal admission requirements.
• If you intend to apply for admission to a qualification offered by the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, please contact the college before submitting your application, as you require a departmental letter of permission from the department to be uploaded as part of your application.
• Departmental forms for the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (available under the college’s research focus areas)
• Click here for the departmental application form for the coursework MCom in Industrial Psychology (professional qualification). Please note the different application dates for this qualification.

  I am sure that my documents are scanned according to the rules

• Each document must be uploaded as a separate file.
• Maximum number of files allowed: 7.
• Files may not be larger than 2MB (2048KB) each. Click here for information on reducing file size or compressing a PDF document.
• Only black and white documents may be submitted.
• Only the following file types are allowed: PDF (Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format file), DOC (Word document file), or TIF (image file).