Apply for a student number and apply for admission

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.

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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
  • Pay online using your credit card: https://registration.unisa.ac.za/info/payment/index.html
  • Pay via bank deposit. Further details will be communicated once a reference number has been allocated to you.
• 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.

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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.

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.

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.