Program Overview

Programme: Bachelor of Information Science (Publishing) [BIS]

The Bachelor of Information Science (Publishing) [BIS] programme is designed to equip students with a thorough understanding of the publishing industry, including book publishing and corporate publishing. The programme aims to provide students with background knowledge on the industry, role players, and trends, as well as specific skills linked to the publishing value chain.

Programme Information

This package contextualises the South African publishing industry, with specific application to book publishing and corporate publishing. The objectives are to equip students with background knowledge on the industry, role players, and trends, as well as with specific skills linked to the publishing value chain. These skills include: the commissioning of manuscripts aimed at specific markets; the management of the design, reproduction, and printing phase; copy-editing and proofreading; financial and marketing management. Students are empowered to act as responsible information intermediaries who can add value to publications during the various phases of the publishing process.

Admission Requirements

The admission requirements for the Bachelor of Information Science (Publishing) [BIS] programme are as follows:

• Achievement level: NSC/IEB 5 for English Home Language or English First Additional Language
• APS: 28
• Life Orientation is excluded when calculating the APS.
• Students will be considered for final admission to degree studies if space allows, and if they have a National Senior Certificate (NSC) or equivalent qualification with admission to bachelor's degree studies, and comply with the minimum subject requirements as well as the APS requirements of their chosen programme.

Programme Structure

The programme consists of three years of study, with a minimum of 382 credits required for completion. The programme is divided into fundamental, core, and elective modules.

Fundamental Modules

The fundamental modules for the programme include:

• AIM 111: Academic information management 111
• AIM 121: Academic information management 121
• ALL 121: Academic literacy for Information Technology 121
• ENG 118: English for specific purposes 118
• UPO 112: Academic orientation 112

Core Modules

The core modules for the programme include:

• BEM 120: Marketing management 120
• INL 110: Information science 110
• INL 120: Information science 120
• INL 140: Information science 140
• PUB 110: Publishing: Introduction to publishing 110
• PUB 120: Publishing 120
• VKK 111: Visual culture studies 111

Elective Modules

The elective modules for the programme include:

• AFR 110: Afrikaans 110
• AFR 120: Afrikaans 120
• AFT 121: African languages literature: Capita selecta 121
• DTS 113: German: Cultural-professional (1) 113
• DTS 123: German: Cultural-professional (2) 123
• ENG 110: English 110
• ENG 120: English 120
• FRN 113: French: Cultural-professional (1) 113
• FRN 123: French: Cultural-professional (2) 123
• NDE 110: Introduction to isiNdebele Grammar – Capita selecta 110
• SEP 111: Introduction to Sepedi grammar - Capita selecta 111
• ZUL 111: Introduction to isiZulu grammar – Capita selecta 111

Year 2 Modules

The modules for the second year of the programme include:

• JCP 202: Community-based project 202
• INL 240: Information science 240
• PUB 210: Publishing 210
• PUB 220: Publishing 220
• VKK 211: Visual culture studies 211
• Elective modules from the Faculty of Humanities at second-year level

Year 3 Modules

The modules for the third year of the programme include:

• PUB 310: Publishing 310
• PUB 311: Publishing 311
• PUB 320: Publishing 320
• PUB 321: Publishing 321
• Elective modules from the Faculty of Humanities at third-year level

Language Groups

Students are required to select a language module from the Faculty of Humanities at each year level. The language groups include:

• Module group 1 – Afrikaans
• Module group 2 – English
• Module group 3 – French
• Module group 4 – German
• Module group 5 – Greek
• Module group 6 – Hebrew
• Module group 7 – Latin
• Module group 8 – IsiNdebele
• Module group 9 – IsiZulu
• Module group 10 – Sepedi
• Module group 11 – Setswana
• Module group 12 – Spanish
• Module group 13 – Portuguese

Pass with Distinction

A degree (undergraduate) in the School of IT is conferred with distinction on a student who did not repeat any module of his/her final year, obtained a weighted average of at least 75% in all the prescribed modules for the final year, provided that a subminimum of 65% is obtained in each of these modules and provided that the degree is completed in the prescribed minimum period of time.

General Information

The University of Pretoria is presently engaged in an ongoing effort to align its qualifications and programmes with the Higher Education Qualification Sub-Framework (HEQF) criteria. Current and prospective students should take note that changes to UP qualification and programme names may occur as a result of the HEQSF initiative. Students are advised to contact their faculties if they have any questions.