Honours degrees & postgraduate diplomas

Application for admission starts here Step 1 Are you ready for ODeL, Unisa and postgraduate studies? Step 2 Choose or find your qualification Step 3 Apply for admission Step 4 Approval, accept offer & register

Selection and application for 2021: 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 an application and selection process that effectively addresses historical imbalances without sacrificing quality standards.

This process promotes 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 does the selection process entail?

Unisa will assess your application according to the academic admission requirements for your qualification(s) of choice and the final mark obtained for your major subjects at third-year undergraduate level.


How does the application process work?

  • 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.
  • You must accept or decline Unisa's offer within the prescribed period of time.
  • If you accept Unisa's offer for the 2021 academic year, you may only register for the qualification and specialisation for which you received an offer. You may also only register for the 2021 academic year. Should you decide not to register for the 2021 academic year for any reason, you will need to re-apply for admission in 2021 for the 2022 academic year.

Please note: The University of South Africa reserves the right to withdraw any offer for admission to the 2021 academic year should it be found that you do not meet the statutory, college and/or minimum admission requirements for the qualification to which you have been admitted. In such a case, the university will refund any registration fees paid towards the said qualification.


Who must apply for admission?

Everyone wanting to start a new qualification must apply for admission. This includes

  • first-time Unisa applicants
  • Unisa students changing to a new qualification and/or changing the specialisation of a current qualification
  • applicants in their final year of an undergraduate qualification who wish to continue with postgraduate studies

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.