Many of us do not 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 a number of videos to help you assess how ready you are for distance learning. Click here to watch the videos.
Unisa is an Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) university. Open Distance e-Learning 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 classes/lectures. You learn from a distance and you connect to the university mostly via the internet (eg a laptop, tablet, smartphone).
Visit www.unisa.ac.za/odl for more information.
Unisa offers different levels of qualifications:
Our careers are a work in progress and you continuously need to make career decisions, including what to study. Your starting point is to understand what kind of opportunities you want to prepare for. If you want to be a teacher, for example, you need to choose a qualification such as the Bachelor of Education degree to prepare you to be a teacher. If you want to be able to work in finance, you might choose to start with a Bachelor of Accounting Science degree to prepare you for finance-related opportunities.
The next step is to do research about yourself (your interests, values and skills) and career opportunities (by doing research on Google, job websites, talking to professionals in person and on LinkedIn, and doing job shadowing and volunteer work). This process will help you to understand what qualifications are more relevant to your career. Complete these career counselling activities to help you make a decision about what to study.
Your interests play an important role in sustaining your career and shaping specific career choices. Often, you are sure of what you like, but are not sure of what jobs are related to your interests. Click here to explore job titles related to specific interests.
Applications for admission to limited undergraduate qualifications for the 2025 academic year to be open from 14 April to 9 May 2025.
If you completed Grade 12 in 2024 and would like to study through Unisa in semester 2 of 2025, you may still apply for admission to limited undergraduate qualifications from 14 April to 9 May 2025.
You can apply for a maximum of two qualifications. You may be offered a space based on the following: whether you meet the statutory and/or academic admission requirements for your qualification of choice, your minimum points score and the number of spaces available for the qualification for which you have applied.
Visit the Unisa application website (www.unisa.ac.za/apply) and follow the 5-step process.
You must re-apply for admission in the next application period. Your student number allocated to you as part of your previous application remains valid.
Yes, please obtain this information from myUnisa and submit your academic record as part of the application process. Please note that you do not need to get this academic record certified, as Unisa can verify the information against the Unisa database.
No. Unisa will not accept any late applications or documents submitted after the closing date for applications. You will need to re-apply during the next application period.
No qualification can be added or changed once an application has been submitted. You may apply for a maximum of two qualifications during the application process. You may want to consider applying for a lower-level qualification as your second choice.
Current or returning Unisa students who wish to change to a new qualification/specialisation may ONLY apply for this change during the relevant application period.
Admission to and registration for NDP is restricted and will only be considered in exceptional cases due to limited spaces available at the university. Admission to study a module for NDP will only be considered if the admission requirements and/or pre-requisites for the module have been met.
In such a case, you are not required to apply for admission to register for the NDP modules. As stipulated in the Unisa rules for students, such NDP registration is restricted and may not be exceeded.
Registration for NDP will unfortunately not be considered to obtain credits towards a qualification at a later stage.
What is the qualification code to apply for admission to NDP for undergraduate modules?
Qualification code 00019.
Please contact the College of Graduate Studies (honours & postgraduate diplomas | master's and doctoral qualifications).
| I've never before applied for NDP at Unisa | I've previously applied for NDP at Unisa |
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To apply, click here.
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If you have an existing NDP record at Unisa, you will not be able to apply online for admission.
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Documents to be submitted as part of your NDP application
| Documents to be submitted if you are a first-time NDP applicant: |
Depending on the reason to register for NDP, the following documents must be submitted and uploaded when you apply online for admission:
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| Documents to be submitted if you previously registered at Unisa for NDP: |
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| Documents to be submitted if your NDP application is for work/employment purposes: |
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| Additional documents to be submitted if you are required to pass additional modules to be registered with a professional body: |
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The non-refundable application fee for self-help and online applications is R140.00.
This application fee is non-refundable even if you decide not to study through Unisa or do not qualify for admission to Unisa .
Please note:
Only first-time applicants at Unisa have to pay the application fee. You do not need to pay the application fee if you have previously paid an application fee at Unisa.
Visit the NSFAS website for all information related to NSFAS funding.
The verification of applications takes some time. You will only receive feedback from Unisa two to four weeks after the closing date for applications.
In exceptional cases and on receipt of a written request, an applicant may change the qualification for which he or she has applied. Unisa will consider such a request, but the outcome will be based on merit and the number of spaces available in the proposed qualification.
You will need to apply for admission during the next application period. Please visit www.unisa.ac.za/apply for more information.
Last modified: 2025/04/10