Program Overview

Master's & Doctoral Degrees

The primary purpose of the qualification is to create leading practitioners who are capable of advancing knowledge in and providing an original contribution to a particular discipline or specialised field of study or within an interdisciplinary framework.

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health

Purpose Statement

The primary purpose of the qualification is to create leading practitioners who are capable of advancing knowledge in and providing an original contribution to a particular discipline or specialised field of study or within an interdisciplinary framework. A second purpose of the qualification is to provide South Africa (and other countries) with leaders who can identify original problems that can expand or redefine existing knowledge and design new creative systems based on sound principles. A third purpose of the qualification is to provide South Africa (and other countries) with intellectual leaders who can demonstrate high levels of self and group reflexivity by adapting to dynamic and changing circumstances, and creatively challenge existing configurations of knowledge.

Qualification Details

• Qualification code: 90143
• Qualification type: Full Research
• NQF level: 10
• Total credits: 360

Admission Requirements

A master's degree in Public Health with an average of 60%. 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 with foreign qualifications, including those with qualifications from African countries, must have their qualifications evaluated at SAQA.
• 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

Time Limits for this Degree

All master's and doctoral qualifications are structured over a defined period. A student registered for a research doctoral programme must complete the study programme within six years. A student may make application to the Registrar for one additional year of study who will only consider the application if it is recommended by the Executive Dean of the College in which the student is registered.

Doctoral Degree

A doctoral degree will require you to undertake research at the most advanced academic levels culminating in the submission, assessment and acceptance of a thesis. Coursework may be required as preparation or value addition to the research, but does not contribute to the credit value of the qualification. The defining characteristic of this qualification is that you will be required to demonstrate high-level research capability and make a significant and original academic contribution at the frontiers of the discipline or field. This work must be of a quality to satisfy peer review and merit publication.

Research Focus Areas

Research focus areas for the College of Human Sciences are available.

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

Student Fees and Funding Your Studies

Application Fee

The online application fee is R150,00. Please note that the application fee is non-refundable even if you decide not to study through Unisa or do not qualify for admission to Unisa.

Student Fees

Student fee information for the 2025 academic year is available. The fee information for the 2026 academic year will be available at the time of registration.

Apply for a Student Number and Apply for Admission

Applications for master's & doctoral qualifications are open. 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.

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

Registration and curriculum information is available.