Program Overview

Master's & Doctoral Degrees

The primary purpose of the Master's and Doctoral degrees is to provide graduates with the knowledge, specific skills, and applied competence within a specialized discipline or field of study to enable them to conduct independent research.

Admission 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 NQF level 8 in the field of study with an average of at least 60%.
• A student who is admitted on the strength of a postgraduate diploma or a 480-credit bachelor's degree with a minimum of 96 credits at level 8 and who has not completed a module in research methodology may be required to complete such a module at NQF level 8 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.
• Students 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.
• There is an approved selection procedure which is in line with Unisa's policies on equality and diversity in the discipline or department.
• Applicants who do not meet the admission requirements as indicated above may apply for admission through recognition of prior learning (RPL) provided they are at least 23 years old with a minimum of five years' current, relevant working and research experience in line with the approved qualification's RPL requirements.

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

• Click here to view a list of departments and research focus areas for the College of Economic and Management Sciences.
• Unisa's Catalytic Niche Areas include:
  • 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

• 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 is as follows:
  • 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
• Your research outline must align with one of the departmental research focus areas.

Student Fees and Funding Your Studies

• Pay the online application fee of R150.00 once you have received your Unisa student number.
• The application fee is non-refundable even if you decide not to study through Unisa or do not qualify for admission to Unisa.
• Use the student number you receive from Unisa AND the application fee reference number.
• Send your proof of payment to the relevant address.
• Visit Unisa's website for Unisa's payment methods and banking details.
• International students are advised to use the Flywire payment option.
• An application for a student number does not constitute an application for admission.
• After you receive your student number, you must still complete the online application for admission process and upload the compulsory supporting documents.

Apply for a Student Number and Apply for Admission

• Applications re-open for master's & doctoral qualifications until 19 December 2025 (some exceptions apply).
• Click here to apply for a student number and apply for admission.
• Please ensure that you apply for a Unisa student number (if applicable), apply for admission, and upload all the supporting documents during the application period.
• If you already have a Unisa student number, you 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
  ext application period.

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.
• 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.
• No printed registration forms will be accepted.

Curriculum

• Registration and curriculum information are available on Unisa's website.