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General university criteria
To be considered for admission to a Masters degree, a student, in terms of the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework, must be in possession of:
an Honours degree or
Postgraduate Diploma or
a four-year professional degree at NQF level 8.
To be considered for admission to a Doctoral degree, a student, in terms of the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework, must be in possession of a Master’s degree or equivalent qualification at NQF level 9.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
UWC RPL Policy and Implementation Guidelines.pdfRecognition of prior learning must be taken into consideration. According to the university, all credits accrued are retained for life.
South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)
SAQA Evaluation certificate
International students can only be considered for admission once they have submitted a SAQA Evaluation Certificate. However, they can be conditionally accepted, if the institution’s name and qualification they obtained appear in the UWC International List of Qualifications of previous SAQA evaluation certificates accepted by the University. Students should however be pro-active and submit their own SAQA evaluation certificate and other legal requirements before registration.
NB! Final acceptance is dependent on the submission of a SAQA certificate and satisfaction of other legal requirements.
SAQA Certification.pdfSAQA information from the Registrar's office
SAQA information from the Registrar's office
⬅️Please see official email notification and additional detail regarding the SAQA certification.
According to the Deputy Registrar, Dr Shaikjee:
"The applicant should submit the actual certificate. Due to the sometimes lengthy period to obtain a certificate faculties are allowed to make an offer to an applicant based on their application for SAQA certification with the assurance that they believe the qualification the applicant is applying for matches up to UWC's NQF level. This is done by faculties either having accepted persons in the past whereby they have SAQA certificates for such a qualification and institution. However, this is only a provisional offer as the applicant must still provide the actual certificate within a specified period as determined by the faculty".
SAQA certification of new applicants.pdfSAQA database for verification of application status
SAQA database for verification of application status
Departmental criteria
NB! Departments reserve the right to stipulate additional or more stringent requirements.
Departments can draw up their own set of criteria to enable them to improve the calibre of the student they select. This may include:
A demonstrated interest in the discipline
Good track record/ performance in the discipline
Letter of motivation
A research idea
For foreign applicants: Proof of English language proficiency on the level required to complete a thesis adequately (IETLS test of 7 or above is considered good but this is no guarantee)
An interview prior to acceptance is considered good practice to give departments a better idea of language proficiency, professionalism, attitude etc.
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