Master’s & doctoral degrees

By | November 22, 2024
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Master’s & doctoral degrees 2026

 

Applications for admission to master’s and doctoral degrees for the 2026 academic year will be open from 11 September to 13 November (some exceptions apply).

Application information for the 2026 academic year will be available shortly.

You may apply for the following qualifications outside the prescribed application dates:

College of Science, Engineering and Technology (excluding Computing students) Contact the Master’s and Doctoral Qualifications Section (+27 11 471 3296; mandd@unisa.ac.za) for assistance, as you will not be able to apply online once applications close for other qualifications.
Master of Science in Nature Conservation (Full Dissertation) (98022)
Applicants who wish to pursue a multi-, inter- or transdisciplinary doctorate should apply for the Doctor of Philosophy (90040) Contact the Master’s and Doctoral Qualifications Section (+27 12 441 5702; mandd@unisa.ac.za) for assistance, as you will not be able to apply online once applications close for other qualifications.
Decision Sciences Contact the Master’s and Doctoral Qualifications Section (+27 12 441 5702; mandd@unisa.ac.za) for assistance, as you will not be able to apply online once applications close for other qualifications.
Selection degrees Selection degrees have different closing dates for applications and are administered by the respective academic departments. Only a limited number of students

are selected per academic year.

Apply for a student number and apply for admission

Who must apply?

  • Everyone wanting to start a new master’s or doctoral degree must apply for admission. This includes first-time Unisa applicants, applicants completing an honours or master’s degree who wish to continue with further postgraduate studies, and Unisa students changing to a new qualification.
  • You must re-apply for admission if you previously applied for admission and received feedback, but did not register for any reason.

Online application dates: closed (with the exceptions listed below)

No hard copy or self-help applications will be accepted.

You may apply for the following qualifications outside the prescribed application dates:

College of Science, Engineering and Technology (excluding Computing students) Contact the Master’s and Doctoral Qualifications Section (+27 11 471 3296; mandd@unisa.ac.za) for assistance, as you will not be able to apply online once applications have closed for other qualifications.
Master of Science in Nature Conservation (Full Dissertation) (98022)
Decision Sciences Contact the Master’s and Doctoral Qualifications Section (+27 12 441 5702; mandd@unisa.ac.za) for assistance, as you will not be able to apply online once applications have closed for other qualifications.
Selection degrees Selection degress have different closing dates for applications and are administered by the respective academic departments. Only a limited number of students are selected per academic year.

Selections for most master’s and doctoral degrees take place during December 2016 and January . The master’s and doctoral administrative section will inform applicants during February of the outcome of their application.

What’s new for ?

  • Unisa will inform you of the outcome of your application and, if successful, the qualification for which you can register for the academic year.
  • If your application for admission is successful, you must register for the academic year. Should you not register for the academic year, you will be required to re-apply in for the 2026 academic year.

1. Application for a student number

Who must apply for a Unisa student number?

  • You must obtain a Unisa student number if you have never before studied towards a formal qualification at Unisa. Student numbers issued for Unisa’s short learning programmes are not valid for formal qualifications.
  • No application or registration will be processed without a valid student number.
  • You do not need re-apply for a student number if you already have a student number for a formal qualification.

How to apply for a Unisa student number

  • Apply online for a student number and pay the non-refundable application fee of R100* (online payment by credit card is available when applying online).
  • Your application for a student number will only be finalised upon receipt of the application fee. Please note the application fee is non-refundable even if you decide not to study through Unisa or do not qualify for admission to your qualification of choice.
  • Upload copies of ID/Passport document.

* Some exceptions may apply.

Pay application fee

Pay the online application fee of R105,00 (online payment by credit card is available). This fee is non-refundable even if you decide not to study through Unisa or do not qualify for admission to Unisa. Unisa does not accept cash at any of its offices. You may deposit cash into the university’s Standard Bank account:

  • Payment information for students living in South Africa
  • Payment information for international students
    • International students must pay fees via SWIFT payment:
      • Beneficiary: Unisa student deposits
      • Standard Bank
      • Account number: 011554622
      • Branch code: 010645
      • SWIFT code: SBZAZAJJ

Please e-mail proof of SWIFT payment to susdepid@unisa.ac.za.

2. Application for admission

Who should apply for admission?

  • First-time applicants for master’s or doctoral qualification, including final year Honours or Master’s students (whether studying through Unisa or another institution).
  • If you previously applied for admission to a master’s or doctoral qualification and did not register (for whatever reason), you must re-apply for admission to the qualification.
  • If you are a previously registered Unisa student who did not register in 2016 but want to study in .
  • If you were previously registered for a qualification, applied for a formal deferment and received formal approval, you do not need to re-apply for admission.

Check your documents & confirm that you are ready to apply

  I am sure that

  • I have a valid Unisa student number for a formal qualification.
  • I have chosen the correct Unisa qualification.
  • I have prepared a research outline in line with the departmental focus area requirements (applicable to all qualifications except for coursework LLM qualifications). A research outline – this document describes your intended research and comprises a two to five page expression of interest essay describing the following:
    • Topic
    • Short literature review
    • Potential contribution of the study
    • Potential unit of analysis
    • Access to the research context t (include the method you plan on using)
    • Personal motivation to pursue studies on this topic
    • List of references (using the Harvard referencing method OR in the case of the Department of Psychology “APA”)
    • CV and any additional documents as indicated in the admission requirements for the specific qualification under the departmental focus area requirements.
  • I meet the statutory and college admission requirements for my qualification.
  • I have a valid e-mail address and I accept that Unisa will communicate with me during the application process using this e-mail address.

  I have the following documents scanned

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:

  • Copies of all official academic records stating all papers passed and percentages obtained, including the ledger.
  • A copy of your ID or Passport.
  • A research outline, CV and any additional documents as indicated in the admission requirements for the specific qualification under the departmental focus area requirements.

  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: 5.
  • Files are not larger than 2MB (2048KB) each.
  • 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)

How to apply for admission (closed with some exceptions listed above)

  • Complete and submit your application online (closed with some exceptions listed above).
  • You must upload all the necessary supporting documents as as indicated above.
  • Please note that academic departments have different dates on which selection for master’s and doctoral qualifications will take place.
  • No late or incomplete applications will be considered.

M & D policy and procedure documents

M & D forms

NQF levels and descriptors

Application approval & registration

What will Unisa do upon receiving your application?

Unisa will assess your application to ensure that you meet the necessary admission requirements and that all required supporting documents have been uploaded online and received.

Your application will then be referred to the relevant academic department, where a selection process will take place. Please note that this selection process will only take place after the closing date for applications, during December 2016 and January . The master’s and doctoral administrative section will inform applicants during February of the outcome of their application.

 

What happens next?

  • Successful application – Unisa will confirm this via e-mail and will also provide you with the contact details of a specific member of staff, normally your supervisor, within the relevant academic department – please ensure that you make contact with this person after registration.
  • Unsuccessful application – Unisa will inform you of this via e-mail.

You must register online for your approved qualification during the prescribed registration period. If you want to change the qualification for which you have applied and received confirmation, you will need to re-apply for admission during the next academic year.

Need Information or Confused about Something ?

Ask a Question

 

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📝 Final Tips Before Applying

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By following this guide, you can confidently apply for NSFAS funding and move one step closer to achieving your academic and career dreams—without the burden of immediate financial pressure.

 

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