The University of South Africa (UNISA) is among the top ranking higher learning institutions in the country and beyond. The institution, therefore, stands out as a focal center of academic excellence for learners seeking world-class educational certifications. UNISA applications are for this reason competitive, attracting thousands of applicants every year. The university expects applicants to submit their request for eligibility before the stipulated deadline. Read on to know about the whole process.
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Are you interested in joining this great university to pursue your higher learning studies? UNISA offers a range of courses from certificate programs to short courses and PhD programmes. But for you to join the institution, you need first to make an application.
UNISA application tools
The online UNISA application tool is secure and will help you conveniently get a chance at the university. While submitting manual requests at the admissions office remains a conventional method, UNISA online application saves both time and resources; therefore, allowing international learners to enroll for different qualifications without leaving their countries. The university offers fair access to higher learning education with a zero-tolerance policy on past inequalities. The university now conducts its selection exercises within the acceptable frameworks in tertiary training.
UNISA application 2019 checklist
It is helpful to pick the right UNISA qualification before initiating your application process. If you are undecided, seek career guidance to help you select a suitable module that meets your professional aspirations. Another critical step is to assess oneself against the admission requirements proposed by the institution. Other conditions include a working email address and an available cell phone number.
READ ALSO: List of UNISA courses 2019
How do I apply for UNISA 2020?
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You can apply for a new qualification regardless of whether you are a first-time applicant or a continuing student. How do I apply online at UNISA? Below is a quick guide on UNISA online application 2020.
- Start by navigating to the University of South Africa portal to access UNISA application form. Eligible applicants who intend to apply for a program at the Technical Vocational Education and Training College may as well apply through the institution's online self-help options. Similarly, these applicants may apply through their respective TVET College by taking advantage of UNISA-TVET agreement.
- Upload relevant documents as support. Both new applicants and continuing students enrolling for new qualifications should provide their academic papers as part of the procedure. All the required documents must be scanned and submitted before the expiry of the specified period. The admission officers will not review all materials submitted after that.
- The scanned files above should not be more than 2MB (2048KB) each, and they should be strictly black and white documents in the formats of PDF, DOC, or TIF.
- You require a student number prior to applying for admission, and you should be granted admission before you can register. If the qualification that you are applying for is still open (has not reached the deadline), there will be a circle next to the programme that you can click on. When you click on the circle, you will be prompted to the page where you will be asked if you have a student number or not. So, you should click where necessary and follow the instructions provided to proceed.
UNISA application dates for 2020 academic year
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It is advisable to keep track of the important UNISA application dates for 2020 to avoid late submissions. Unfortunately, for 2019, the requests for admission to undergraduate qualifications such as higher and advanced certificates, diplomas and advanced diplomas, PGCE, BTech & degrees are already closed. Also, honours degrees and postgraduate diplomas admissions UNISA application for 2019 deadline have already passed.
The deadline to make a request for admission to master's & doctoral qualifications for the academic year 2020 is from 10 September - 8 November 2019, apart from the following qualifications that allow requests beyond the prescribed deadline:
- Candidates wishing to undertake a multi, inter or transdisciplinary doctoral degree. These applicants should apply for the Doctor of Philosophy degree (90040-MIT), and to do so, they can use the following contact details for the the Master's and Doctoral Administration Section for further guidance on how to go about the procedure: 011 471 3296; mandd@unisa.ac.za
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- Master of Science in Nature Conservation (full dissertation), (98022) interested candidates. Similarly, such applicants can use 011 471 3296 or mandd@unisa.ac.za to contact the Master's and Doctoral Administration Section to be instructed on how to go about the process.
- Apart from Computing students at the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, other applicants interested in qualifications in this department can apply beyond the deadline given above. Such candidates can reach out to the Master's and Doctoral Administration Section for assistance through 011 471 3296 or mandd@unisa.ac.za
- For the applicants interested in Decision Sciences qualifications, to be assisted with regards to applying for the qualification, one can reach out to the Master's and Doctoral Administration Section through 012 441 5702 or mandd@unisa.ac.za
- Selection degrees applicants i.e. qualification codes: 90042, 98402, 98420, 98511, and 98594 also have varying closing dates for applications and are administered by the respective academic departments. Note that for this section, a specific number of students are chosen each academic year.
UNISA SLPs application dates, fees, and procedure
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UNISA application dates for Short Learning Programmes, SLPs, were from 14 May 2019 - 23 July 2019. Selected SLPs, provided by centers found within different academic departments of collages, are courses that concentrate on strictly just enough teaching to meet a particular learning necessity as identified by individuals, companies or the entire society. Registration for courses to be undertaken in the first semester have not yet been confirmed. However, registration for second semester was from the 15 May 2019 - 26 July 2019. So, keep checking, or you can directly contact ucl@unisa.ac.za to find out. No application fee is charged for SLPs.
How much is UNISA application fee?
The University of South Africa requires applicants to pay an application fee for both online and hard copy submissions. Applicants should take note that the UNISA application fee is not refundable whether you fail or pass.
The application fee payment is only accepted after the system sends you a student number. An application fee of R105 is charged for online applications while R160 is charged on hard copy submissions strictly for non-degree purposes. For banking details, refer to this link on payment methods.
Note that the University of South Africa does not accept cash payments and therefore all payments should be channeled through acceptable payment methods. Any application forwarded to UNISA without making the required application fee payment will not be reviewed; hence, it is invalid. Always make sure to keep the record of your transaction for later use.
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Acceptable payment methods
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- Credit cards
- Bank deposit
- Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
- UNISA web credit card payments
- Debit cards
- International students
- Telegraphic money order (TMO)
- Postal orders, money orders
- Payments by employers/sponsors/donors & bulk payments
What documents do I need to apply at the University of South Africa?
Applicants must upload the following documents when applying for new qualifications:
- School qualification copy
- ID copy for RSA students or ID /passport for the learners from other parts of the globe
- Marriage certificate or divorce decree (if applicable)
- Document translation if not presented in Afrikaans or English
- Official copy of the tertiary academic record (if applicable)
Note that internet copies are not accepted.
How long does UNISA take to process applications?
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Has UNISA accepted my application? If this is the question that is bugging you, note that the University of South Africa takes 6- 8 weeks to complete reviewing requests from the ending of the application period. The institution will prompt you with feedback on whether your application failed or was accepted.
UNISA application status 2020
You are probably curious to learn about the progress of your request to pursue a course at the University of South Africa. To find out the progress of your application, simply visit the site and click on status. The system will require you to provide the student number, surname, first name, and the date of birth for you to track the progress.
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UNISA applications should strictly be submitted within the deadline dates beyond which they will not be reviewed. To make sure your request is accepted, pay the required fees and wait for the administrators to process your request. You can always check your application status at your convenience after a successful application.
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