Apply for Admission At UNISA | Master’s & doctoral degrees
Research focus areas
- College of Accounting Sciences
- College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
- College of Economic and Management Sciences
- College of Education
- College of Human Sciences
- College of Law
- College of Science, Engineering and Technology
Qualification
College specific qualifications: Applicants who wish to register for a doctoral degree in a specific discipline should consult the college-specific information below.
Applicants who wish to pursue a multi, inter or transdisciplinary doctorate should apply for the Doctor of Philosophy (90040) degree.
During the application process, applicants should select qualification code 90040 and then select the additional code based on which choice they want to make.
- PhD in College of Science, Engineering and Technology: Applicants who wish to pursue a multi, inter or transdisciplinary doctorate in a science field, including Science, Engineering and Technology Education, should apply for the Doctor of Philosophy (90040) – SET option.
- PhD in other colleges: Applicants who wish to pursue a multi, inter or transdisciplinary doctorate in all other colleges should apply for the Doctor of Philosophy (90040) – MIT option.
- Other options available:
| Human Sciences: | Sciences: | ||
| ISL – Islamic Studies DST – Development studies PHL – Philosophy |
MAT – Mathematics Education TEC – Technology Education CHE – Chemistry Education COM – Computing Education LIF – Life Sciences Education |
AST – Astronomy Education STA – Statistics Education SCE – Science Education PHY – Physics Education |
|
Who must apply?
- Everyone wanting to start a new master’s or doctoral degree must apply for admission. This includes
- first-time Unisa applicants
- Unisa students changing to a new qualification
- applicants in their final year of a postgraduate diploma, honours degree or master’s degree who wish to continue with further postgraduate studies
- You must re-apply for admission if you previously applied for admission to a master’s or doctoral degree and received feedback, but did not register for any reason.
- You must re-apply for admission if you are a previously registered master’s or doctoral student, but did not register for the 2024 academic year and now wish to continue with master’s or doctoral studies in 2024. This excludes students who applied for and were granted a formal deferment.
M & D policy and procedure documents
- Admission Policy (PDF)
- Policy for copyright infringement and plagiarism (PDF)
- Intellectual property policy (PDF)
- Language policy (PDF)
- Policy on Research Ethics (PDF)
- Procedures for master’s and doctoral degrees (PDF)
- The Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (PDF)
- Guidelines for submission of electronic versions of theses and dissertations (ETDs) (PDF)
- Policy for Master’s and Doctoral degrees (PDF)
- Academic and Integrity (PDF)
M & D forms
- Supervision agreement between graduate student and supervisor (DOC)
- Application for deferment of master’s and doctoral studies (DOC)
- Key terms describing the topic of a dissertation/thesis (DOC)
- Title page (DOC)
- Notice of intention to submit (DOC)
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 you have uploaded all the necessary supporting documents.
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, namely, during December 2024 and January 2024. The Master’s and Doctoral Administrative Section will inform applicants during February 2024 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.
Please note:
- 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.
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.