UNISA Undergraduate Application 2025/2026

University of South Africa UNISA Undergraduate Application 2025/2026 – UNISA Undergraduate qualifications for 2025/2026 Application.

Application for Admission

Applications for admission to undergraduate qualifications (higher certificates, advanced certificates, diplomas, advanced diplomas & degrees) for the 2025/2026 academic year will be open from 1 September to 30 November.

University of South Africa UNISA Courses

University of South Africa UNISA Fees

Everyone wanting to start a new qualification must apply for admission. This includes

first-time Unisa applicants
Unisa students changing to a new qualification and / or specialisation
applicants who previously applied for admission and were not offered a space or who were offered a space, accepted the offer and did not register
students completing a higher certificate or any other programme and who wish to continue with further undergraduate studies

UNISA Online Application Process

All applications for admission must be submitted online during the prescribed application period.

Applicants who plan to enrol for classes at a Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college under the Unisa-TVET agreement may apply via the relevant TVET college or at Unisa via the online or self-help options.

Step 1 What is ODeL and is Unisa for you?

ODeL is a different way of learning… there is a physical distance between you and your university. For most of us, this means that our previous learning experiences will not have prepared us for the Unisa study journey. In open distance e-learning, YOU are responsible for planning your studies and managing your time effectively. You don’t attend daily lectures. You learn from a distance and you connect to the university mostly via the internet. If you completed your previous qualifications at a residential institution, it is especially important that you think about the adjustments you need to make to be a successful Unisa student.

But this doesn’t mean that you are on your own. Unisa has a number of support services for our students – from tutorial support and counselling, to online tools. The “distance” in open distance e-learning means that most of your interactions with Unisa will take place at a distance – mostly in digital format.

Your study material

Your study material will consist of written content, whether on paper (eg prescribed books or textbooks) or online (eg myUnisa), instead of listening to a teacher or lecturer in a classroom. In some instances, Unisa provides access to computers and the internet at our regional offices and other partner organisations, but you should have your own computer and access to the internet.

Your study world

The best way to cope with open distance e-learning is to take full responsibility for your own learning experience and environment. Your study world will be the environment you create – a room at home, a desk somewhere at work and, of course, the connections you make and the virtual networks you develop.

Your time

You will also need to remind your friends, family and work colleagues that your studies demand a lot from you, because they will probably forget that you are studying and make demands on your time.

Step 2 Are you certain about your career?

Most individuals decide to study in the hope that their qualification will help them prepare for future career and study opportunities. You may want to qualify as a chartered accountant, for example, so you choose to apply for admission to a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences degree as a first step in your career journey.

Making a career decision (including what to study) is not something that happens only once – you will need to make continuous career decisions throughout your life. It is important to spend some time reflecting on your decision to study through Unisa and what you want to study. Even though it is possible to change to a different qualification, choosing a qualification that is not linked to a future career and study opportunities will have implications, such as loss of income and/or feeling demotivated in terms of studying.

Even if you have made a choice, the following activities may help you to re-affirm your choice or help you to explore additional options. If you are struggling to make a choice, then the career activities could help you with your decision. UNISA Undergraduate Application

Step 3 Choose or find your qualification

University of South Africa UNISA Courses

Step 4 Apply for admission

Are you ready to apply for admission?

Who must apply?

Everyone wanting to start a new qualification must apply for admission.

When may I apply?

Applications for admission to Unisa’s undergraduate qualifications (higher certificates, advanced certificates, diplomas, advanced diplomas & degrees) will be open from 1 September to 30 November.

What do I need to apply?

You need to check that you qualify for admission and that you have the necessary documents ready to upload during the application process.

I am sure…

that I meet the statutory and college admission requirements for my qualification(s) of choice
that I meet the minimum academic points score (APS) for my qualification(s) of choice – a higher certificate requires a minimum APS of 15, a diploma a minimum APS of 18 and a bachelor degree a minimum APS of 21 or more (some exceptions apply)
that I have a valid e-mail address and cellphone number, and I accept that Unisa will communicate with me during the application process using this e-mail address and cellphone number. Please ensure that you provide only one e-mail address and one cellphone number during the application process.
* It is very important that you check your e-mails regularly for communication from Unisa about your application.

I have the following documents scanned & uploaded to an electronic device

All applicants starting a new qualification must upload all the required documents, which generally consists of the following:

Copy of your school qualifications (eg Senior Certificate, National Senior Certificate)
Copy of your official tertiary academic record(s) (if applicable) (internet copies will not be accepted)
Copy of your ID document (RSA students) or ID / passport (international students)
Copy of your marriage certificate (if applicable) or divorce decree (if applicable)
Sworn translations of documents if they are not in English or Afrikaans

* We urge all Unisa students who previously applied prior to 2016 to upload all the required documents. Failure to do so may result in a delay in processing your application.

** Some qualifications may require additional documents. Unisa reserves the right to request original documents and / to verify the correctness of submitted documents at any time. Submitting fraudulent documents is an offence in terms of the Student Disciplinary Code.

I am sure that my documents are scanned according to the rules

Follow the instructions carefully when completing the online application process. Only upload the required documents as individual files and not a complete set of documents as one file.

Files are not larger than 2MB (2048KB) each.
Only black and white documents may be submitted.
Only the following file types are allowed: PDF (Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format file), DOC (Word document file) or TIF (image file)

Step 5 Application outcomes

Application outcomes

Unisa will assess your application, which includes the points score system. You may be offered a space for semester 1 of the 2025/2026 academic year based on the following: if you meet the academic admission requirements for your qualification of choice, your minimum academic points score (APS) and the number of places available for the qualification for which you have applied.

Please note:

Applicants who do not qualify for admission will get feedback as soon as their applications are processed.
Based on Unisa’s application and selection process outlined above, applicants may not automatically be accepted to study through Unisa in 2025/2026.
Applicants who qualify for admission will only receive final feedback as to whether or not Unisa will offer them a space for semester 1 of the 2025/2026 academic year once all applications received by the closing date for semester 1 have been processed.