Program Overview

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Master's & Doctoral Degrees

The university offers a range of master's and doctoral degrees across various disciplines. These programs are designed to provide students with advanced knowledge and skills in their chosen field, as well as the opportunity to conduct original research.

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admission to a master's or doctoral degree program, students must meet the following requirements:

• An appropriate bachelor's honors degree, or an appropriate postgraduate diploma, or a 480-credit bachelor's degree with a minimum of 96 credits at level 8.
• A candidate who has not completed a module in research methodology may be required to complete such a module at NQF level 8 for non-degree purposes before they will be allowed to register for the dissertation.
• All students with foreign qualifications, including those with qualifications from African countries, must have their qualifications evaluated at SAQA.

Student Fees and Funding

The application fee for master's and doctoral degrees is R150.00. This fee is non-refundable, even if the student decides not to study through the university or does not qualify for admission. The fee information for the 2026 academic year will be available at the time of registration.

Application for Admission

Applications for master's and doctoral degrees are open until December 19, 2025. Students must apply for a student number and apply for admission during this period. They must also upload all supporting documents within 10 working days.

Registration

Only students whose application for admission was approved and re-registering students who made sufficient progress during the current academic year will be allowed to register online within the approved registration period for the 2026 academic year.

Curriculum

The curriculum for master's and doctoral degrees includes a range of courses and research components. Students must register for the correct courses and complete the required research components to graduate.

Master of Arts in Criminology

The Master of Arts in Criminology is a full research degree that provides students with advanced knowledge and skills in the field of criminology.

Purpose Statement

The primary purpose of this qualification is to enable graduates to become specialists in a particular discipline or within an interdisciplinary framework by gaining in-depth knowledge in a complex area of study.

Qualification Code and Type

The qualification code for the Master of Arts in Criminology is 98606, and it is a full research degree at NQF level 9.

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admission to the Master of Arts in Criminology, students must meet the following requirements:

• An appropriate bachelor's honors degree, or an appropriate postgraduate diploma, or a 480-credit bachelor's degree with a minimum of 96 credits at level 8.
• A candidate who has not completed a module in research methodology may be required to complete such a module at NQF level 8 for non-degree purposes before they will be allowed to register for the dissertation.

Time Limits for this Degree

A student registered for a 180-credit structured research master's degree must complete the study program within three years. A student may make application to their supervisor for one additional year of study.

Research Master's Degree

A research master's degree comprises a dissertation on an approved topic. Students will be expected to have a research proposal approved in the first year of study.

Research Focus Areas

The university has a range of research focus areas, including:

• Marine studies
• Aviation and aeronautical studies
• Automotive
• Energy
• Space study and square kilometer array
• Fourth IR and digitalization
• Natural sciences (biotechnological studies)
• Health studies/medicine
• Feminist, womanist, and bosadi theorizations
• Student support and co-curricular activities

Research Outline

Students must submit a detailed research outline as part of their application. The outline should include:

• Title
• Summary of topic
• Short literature review
• Expected contribution of the study
• Methodology to be followed
• Availability of the data
• List of references
• Reasons why you are interested in the topic

The research outline must align with one of the departmental research focus areas, and students should strive to incorporate at least one of the Catalytic Niche Areas (CNAs) into their research.