Apply for Admission At UNISA | Honours degrees & postgraduate diplomas

Apply for Admission At UNISA | Honours degrees & postgraduate diplomas

Selection and application for 2024: here’s what you should know

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 developed an application and selection process that will more effectively address historical imbalances without sacrificing quality standards.
This process will promote focused attention towards improved student support and the alignment of our new student intake with the available academic capacity and required infrastructure to maximise all students’ chances of success.

What will the new selection process entail?

  • Based on Unisa’s application and selection process, you will not automatically be accepted to study through Unisa in 2024 even if you meet the general academic admission requirements for a qualification.
  • Unisa will assess your application according to the academic admission requirements for your qualification of choice, your final mark received at undergraduate level and the number of places available for the qualification for which you have applied.

How will the applications process change?

  • 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).
  • Unisa will inform you of the outcome of your application.
  • 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, pelase go to myUnisa (https://my.unisa.ac.za) to update your password. 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 provided during the application period.

Who will be affected?

  • All first-time applicants
  • Everyone starting a new qualification:
    • Unisa students changing to a new qualification
    • Applicants completing an undergraduate qualification who wish to continue with postgraduate studies
    • Current Unisa students applying for a postgraduate qualification other than the one they are currently registered for

Please note: You must re-apply for admission if you previously applied for admission and were offered a space, but did not register for any reason.

ODL, Unisa and postgraduate studies

Have you ever successfully completed a qualification through Unisa / distance learning?

No, I haven't sucessfully completed a qualification through Unisa / distance learning. Read the content below.      Yes, I have sucessfully completed a qualification through Unisa / distance learning but things have changed. Read the content below.      Yes, I have sucessfully completed a qualification through Unisa / distance learning. Proceed to the next step in the application process.

Open Distance Learning (ODL) is a different way of learning
ODL is a different way of learning… there is a physical distance between you and your university. For most of us, this means that our previous learning experiences will not have prepared us for the Unisa study journey. In distance learning, YOU are responsible for your studies. You don’t attend daily lectures. You learn from a distance and you connect to the university mostly via the internet.
But this doesn’t mean that you are on your own. Unisa has a number of support services for our students – from tutorial support and counselling, to online tools. The “distance” in distance learning means that most of your interactions with Unisa will take place at a distance – mostly in digital format.
How ready are you for postgraduate studies at Unisa?
What opportunities are you hoping to prepare for by completing your postgraduate qualification? Are you applying for postgraduate studies because you have a personal interest in your field of study? Or perhaps you expect to be earning a higher salary on completion? May you want to be able to contribute more meaningfully to your community and society in general? What do you expect from your postgraduate qualification?
Prepare for Open Distance Learning (ODL)
How ready are you for ODL?
Many of us don’t know what it’s really like to study through distance learning, because most of our schooling and post-school education was completed through contact or face-to-face learning. We have developed this “readiness tool” to help you assess how ready you are for distance learning. It won’t take much of your time and is easy to complete, so try it!

See what it takes to be a Unisa student

Take a look at the journey that some of our successful students have experienced to get a realistic idea of what it takes to be a Unisa student.

Apply for admission

Who must apply?

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

What’s new for 2024?

  • 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).
  • Unisa will inform you of the outcome of your application.
  • 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, pelase go to myUnisa (https://my.unisa.ac.za) to update your password. 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 provided during the application period.
Check your documents & confirm that you are ready to applyPlease note that if you don’t meet the exact requirements listed below, your application will be declined and you will have to re-apply during the next application period.

 I am sure…

  • that Open Distance Learning (ODL) and Unisa are for me
  • about my career
  • that I have chosen the correct Unisa qualification(s) for my career choice
  • 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 ensure that you provide only one e-mail address and one cellphone number during the application process.

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

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

  • Copy of your school qualifications (eg Senior Certificate)
  • Copy of your official tertiary academic record(s) (if applicable) (internet copies will not be accepted)
    *A SAQA evaluation may be required for international students
  • Copy of your ID document (RSA students) or ID / 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 / to verify the correctness of submitted documents at any time. Submitting fraudulent documents is an offence in terms of the Student Disciplinary Code.

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

Follow the instructions carefully when completing the online application process. Only upload the required documents as individual files and not a complete set of documents as one file.

  • 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?

Ways to apply

You can only 
Upload supporting documentsEveryone applying for a new qualification must submit the required documents (all first-time applicants and Unisa students starting a new qualification).Unisa does not provide scanners or electronic devices. Please ensure that your documents are scanned and uploaded to an electronic device before starting the application process.
Pay the application fee once you’ve received a student number from Unisa

  • R105 for online applications
  • The application fee is only applicable to students who do not have a formal Unisa student number.
  • Use the student number you receive from Unisa AND the application fee reference number (ie STUDENTNUMBER 5370810030)
  • Visit www.unisa.ac.za/paymentinfo for banking details and payment information.

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.The due date for the application fee is the closing date for the application period. Any application submitted without an application fee will not be processed. Please ensure that you keep a copy of your proof of payment.

Make sure that your application is complete

If your application for admission to study through Unisa is incomplete, you will have to re-apply during the next application period.

Application approval and registration

Based on Unisa’s application and selection process, you will not automatically be accepted to study through Unisa in 2024 even if you meet the general academic admission requirements for a qualification.
Unisa will assess your application according to the academic admission requirements for your qualification of choice, your final mark received at undergraduate level and the number of places available for the qualification for which you have applied.

Application outcomes

Your application was successful. Your application was unsuccessful.
Unisa will inform you that your application for the 2024 academic year was successful and the qualification for which you have been accepted. Unisa will inform you that your application was unsuccessful. Visit www.unisa.ac.za/studyoptionsHONS to explore other study options.
Incorrect / incomplete applications will be rejected.

Please note:

  • Applicants whose admission to a qualification or to both qualifications of choice has been rejected may request a review of their application, either on the basis that they believe the decision was an error on the part of the university, or that further supporting documents may result in a different outcome to their application for admission.
  • 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. 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 provided during the application period.

Remember to register

If your application for admission is successful, you must register for the 2024 academic year. Should you not register for the 2024 academic year, you will be required to re-apply in 2024 for the 2024 academic year.