Program Overview

Master's & Doctoral Degrees

The university offers various master's and doctoral degrees, each with its own set of requirements and focus areas.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to a master's or doctoral degree, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• An appropriate bachelor honours degree, or an appropriate postgraduate diploma, or a 480 credit bachelor's degree with a minimum of 96 credits at NQF 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 he/she 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.
• In addition to the above requirements, applicants must submit a transcript or an academic record, as well as a document describing their intended research.
• Candidates may also apply for admission via Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
• Candidates will be accepted on the following criteria:
  • Suitability and viability of the intended research.
  • Adequate supervisory capacity and research expertise in the discipline or department.
  • An approved selection procedure, which is in line with the university's policies on equality and diversity in the discipline or department.

Student Fees and Funding Your Studies

• The online application fee is R150.00.
• The application fee is non-refundable even if you decide not to study through the university or do not qualify for admission.
• Student fees for the 2025 academic year are available, and the fee information for the 2026 academic year will be available at the time of registration.
• Students registering for qualifications through the Graduate School of Business Leadership should visit the SBL website for fee information, as the SBL uses a different fee structure.
• There are student funding and bursary opportunities available.

Application for Admission

Applications for master's and doctoral qualifications are open, and applicants must apply for a student number and apply for admission during the application period.

• If you already have a student number, you can proceed to apply for admission and upload all the supporting documents.
• You have 10 working days to upload all the supporting documents during the application period.
• If you do not comply with this requirement, your application will be declined, and you will have to re-apply for admission during the current or next application period.

Registration

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

• Coursework master's degree students must await the official approval of their research proposal module before attempting to re-register for the next academic year.
• Students with outstanding fees or a library block on their accounts will not be able to register online until these issues have been resolved.

Curriculum

Registration and curriculum information is available, and students can find quick links to various resources, including about the university, alumni, vacancies, tenders, and contact information.

Master of Arts in Criminal Justice

The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice is a full research qualification that includes various specializations in Arts.

• The primary purpose of the 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.
• The qualification stream is Criminology and Security Management, and the qualification code is 98629 - CSM.
• The qualification type is Full Research, and the NQF level is 9.
• The total credits required for the qualification are 180, and the SAQA ID is 5395.

Admission Requirements

The admission requirements for the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice include:

• An appropriate bachelor honours degree, or an appropriate postgraduate diploma, or a 480 credit bachelor's degree with a minimum of 96 credits at NQF 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 he/she 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.
• In addition to the above requirements, applicants must submit a transcript or an academic record, as well as a document describing their intended research.

Time Limits for this Degree

All master's and doctoral qualifications are structured over a defined period.

• A student registered for a 180-credit structured research master's degree must complete the study programme within three years.
• A student may make application to their supervisor for one additional year of study.
• The supervisor will consult with the Executive Dean of the College in which the student is registered.

Research Master's Degree

A research master's degree comprises a dissertation on an approved topic.

• You will be expected to have a research proposal approved in the first year of study.
• If you do not complete a research proposal in the first year of study, you will not be permitted to continue with the qualification.
• You will also be excluded from applying for admission to the same college for a period of two years.

Research Focus Areas

The research focus areas for the College of Law are available, and you can click to view a list of departments and research focus areas.

• Unisa's admission policy has changed, and you are now required to submit a detailed research outline for the qualification for which you apply.
• No application submitted without a detailed research outline will be considered.
• Although this research outline may differ for each qualification or academic department, the basic information required includes:
  • 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

Research Outline

Your research outline must align with one of the departmental research focus areas.

• Please also take note of the university's Catalytic Niche Areas; you should strive to incorporate at least one of the Catalytic Niche Areas (CNAs) into your research.
• The CNAs include:
  1. Marine studies
  2. Aviation and aeronautical studies
  3. Automotive
  4. Energy
  5. Space study and square kilometre array
  6. Fourth IR and digitalisation
  7. Natural sciences (biotechnological studies)
  8. Health studies/medicine
  9. Feminist, womanist and bosadi theorisations
  10. Student support and co-curricular activities

Plagiarism

Plagiarism of any form is unacceptable.

• Please take note of the university's Policy for Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism.