Application approval and track your application

What will Unisa do upon receiving your application?

Unisa will assess your application to ensure that you meet the admission requirements and that you have uploaded all the compulsory supporting documents.

If your application is complete, it will be referred to the relevant academic department, where a selection process will take place during January/February 2026. Applicants will be informed during the first week of March 2026 as to the outcome of their application.

You can track the status of your application.

Submitting supporting documents

You have 10 days from the date of application to upload your compulsory supporting documents (the 10 days does not apply after the closing date for applications).
If your application is declined because it is incomplete (ie you did not upload all the supporting documents), you may re-apply for admission during the current application period and upload your compulsory supporting documents, provided that the application period is still open. Alternatively, you will need to wait for the next application period.

What happens next?

Successful application: Unisa will confirm this via e-mail and will also provide you with the contact details of a specific member of staff, normally your supervisor, within the relevant academic department. Please remember to register during the prescribed registration period.
Unsuccessful application: Unisa will inform you of this via e-mail and provide you with a reason why your application was unsuccessful. You may appeal the decision by sending an e-mail to MandD@unisa.ac.za The appeal submission must contain a motivation for the request and supporting documents. Please note that the following reasons are not grounds for an appeal: not uploading required supporting documents / lack of supervisory capacity / a department reaching its full capacity / the submitted research outline is not aligned to the departmental research focus areas / where departments do not have expertise in the area of the proposed research title / the research outline does not meet the departmental requirements / the proposed research area will not bring a unique contribution to the body of knowledge or applying for the wrong qualification.

If your application for admission was unsuccessful because you did not meet the minimum admission requirements, you may apply for admission via Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), provided that you are 23 years of age or older with at least 5 years current and relevant work experience related to the qualification you wish to pursue. Prior learning should have been gained through one or more of the following means: research experience, workplace learning, information/non-formal learning, company/industry-based training, working with experts or life experience.

How will Unisa contact me?

If you are a first-time Unisa applicant and do not have a myLife e-mail address, Unisa will communicate with you via the e-mail address and cellphone number you provided during the application period.
If you were previously registered with Unisa, Unisa will send the outcome of your application to your myLife e-mail account. Please check this e-mail account regularly for information. If you have forgotten your myUnisa/myLife password, please go to myUnisa (https://my.unisa.ac.za) to update your password.
Unisa provides all registered students with a free myLife e-mail address. It is your responsibility to activate your myLife e-mail account as soon as your registration is finalised. Your myLife e-mail account will be the only e-mail account recognised by Unisa for official correspondence to and from the university, and will remain the official primary e-mail address on record at Unisa. Click here for Unisa's rules for students.

Master's & doctoral degrees

Application approval & track your application

What will Unisa do upon receiving your application?

Submitting supporting documents

What happens next?

How will Unisa contact me?