How to Apply to University of South Africa

What does the selection process entail?

• At the heart of the selection process is a calculation of your individual points score, which takes into account your final Grade 12 marks and other key factors such as the school you attended, and your gender, socio-economic group, race, and so on.
• Before applying, please check whether you meet the statutory and college-specific admission requirements, and the required academics points score (APS) for your chosen qualification(s). A higher certificate requires a minimum APS of 15, a diploma a minimum APS of 18 and a bachelor’s degree a minimum APS of 21 or more (some exceptions apply).
• It is important to note that you will not automatically be accepted to study through Unisa in semester 1 of. Students will be accommodated based on the number of places available for each qualification.

The application process

• 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 qualifications be successful).
• Unisa will inform you of the outcome of your application. If successful, Unisa will indicate for which qualification you have been accepted and will offer you a space for the period for which you have applied (ie semester 1).
• You must accept or decline Unisa’s offer within the prescribed period. If you miss this deadline, Unisa will withdraw the offer and give your space to another applicant.
• First-time applicants to Unisa will be required to complete the First-Year Experience (FYE) MOOC (massive open online course) before being able to accept Unisa’s offer.
• You may only accept one offer. This means that when you accept an offer for one qualification (irrespective of whether it is your first or second qualification of choice), the other offer will automatically fall away.
• If you accept Unisa’s offer, you must register for the period for which you have been granted admission (ie semester 1). Should you not register for the relevant semester of study, you will need to re-apply for admission during the next application period.

Who must apply?

• Everyone wanting to start a new qualification must apply for admission. This includes first-time Unisa applicants and Unisa students changing to a new qualification and/or specialisation.
• If you are completing a higher certificate or alternative pathway / extended programme, you must apply for admission if you want to continue with further undergraduate studies.
• You must re-apply for admission if you previously applied for admission and were offered a space, but did not accept the offer and/or did not register for any reason.
• Everyone planning to enrol for classes at a Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college under the Unisa-TVET agreement must apply for admission.

Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) is a different way of learning

ODeL 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 open-distance e-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 several support services for our students – from tutorial support and counselling to online tools. The “distance” in open distance e-learning means that most of your interactions with Unisa will take place at a distance – mostly in a digital format.