Undergraduate qualifications

General admission requirements


Unisa general admission requirements

  • Your admission to Unisa is dependent on you meeting the specific admission requirements for your chosen qualification. If you don’t meet these requirements, you may want to consider alternative qualifications. Click here to visit the qualifications page for undergraduate qualifications.
  • Some Unisa qualifications have limited spaces available. Meeting the general and/specific admission requirements for a qualification does not guarantee that you will be offered a space for the 2023 academic year.



I wrote matric before 2009. Do I qualify?

If you do NOT hold a Senior Certificate with an endorsement indicating that you have been exempted from the matriculation requirement, please refer to the documents below to ascertain whether or not you are eligible to apply for admission to undergraduate degree studies (not applicable to students who wrote the National Senior Certificate examinations from 2008):


Applying for credits from other higher education institutions

Unisa may recognise previous learning from previous formal education. This will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Not all credits achieved at other institutions will count towards a Unisa qualification. Your request for exemption(s) will only be considered once we have received your completed online DSAR04 form and a certified copy of an official academic record, a conduct certificate and, in some cases, the syllabus. In the case of international qualifications, SAQA evaluation and the syllabus are required. No exemptions will be finalised on an academic record during the application period.

You must meet the admission requirements for the qualification for which you are applying for credits and/or exemptions. A maximum of 50% of the prescribed credits may be awarded in the form of credits and exemptions. No exemptions will be granted for Unisa's signature modules. Unisa reserves the right to grant and/or decline applications for exemptions or credit transfers.


Recognition of prior learning

When applying to Unisa, remember that Unisa will consider your previous learning. This includes both formal education at a tertiary institution (eg formal certificate, diploma and degree qualifications) and informal learning (eg knowledge or skills acquired during practical work experience, including community work in a relevant field). For further information visit the RPL website.


Admission and re-admission rules (academic progression rules)

The admission requirements to Unisa and the number of modules a student must pass per semester have changed. It's important to take note of this information to ensure that you are able to progress with your studies and graduate within the stipulated qualification timeframe. Read more...


I don't meet the admission requirements. What are my options? 

What should you do if you do not meet the admission requirements for any undergraduate qualification at Unisa? You need to explore options to help you meet the admission requirements for your chosen qualification or you could reconsider your career goals and how you will plan your career. Read more...

Last modified: 2023/08/07