If you are looking for a single UNISA prospectus PDF for 2027, you will not find one: UNISA does not publish it. The university keeps its undergraduate information online instead, with one web page per qualification, grouped under its colleges, each showing the qualification code, NQF level, credits, APS and admission requirements. Anything presented as a “UNISA prospectus 2027 PDF” on another website is somebody else’s compilation, not an official document.
Time is short. UNISA accepts undergraduate applications for the 2027 academic year only from 17 August to 9 October 2026, and its FAQ states that it will not accept late applications or documents after the closing date. First-time applicants pay a non-refundable R160 fee, and UNISA will not process an application until the fee is paid and the supporting documents are uploaded. Our UNISA application guide walks through the online form.
What UNISA publishes in place of a prospectus
- UNISA undergraduate qualifications finder: search by college, by level (higher certificate, diploma, bachelor’s degree) or by interest field; every result opens a full qualification page
- 2027 Unisa application information: how selection works and who must apply
- 2027 Unisa higher certificates and the related qualifications per college (PDF): which degree or diploma each higher certificate leads to
APS out of 42, then a points score
UNISA works out your APS from six recognised 20-credit subjects on the NSC 1-to-7 scale, so 80–100% earns 7, 70–79% earns 6, and so on down to 1 for 0–29%. Life Orientation, a 10-credit subject, is excluded, which makes 42 the highest possible APS. Meeting a qualification’s APS is only the first hurdle. UNISA then calculates an individual points score that combines your final Grade 12 marks with factors such as the school you attended, gender, socio-economic group and race, and it offers spaces according to the number available in each qualification. UNISA says outright that “first come, first served” does not apply.
Four qualification pages, four different bars
These requirements come from the official qualification pages as published for 2027 applicants. “Degree endorsement” means a bachelor’s pass.
- Bachelor of Laws (98680): APS 20; NSC with degree endorsement and at least 50% in the language of teaching and learning. A Higher Certificate in Law or in Criminal Justice can also lead to the LLB, but only with an average of at least 60%.
- BEd in Foundation Phase Teaching (90102): APS 23; degree endorsement, 50% in the language of teaching and learning, and 40% in Mathematics or 50% in Mathematical Literacy.
- Bachelor of Accounting Sciences in Financial Accounting (98302): APS 21; degree endorsement, 50% in the language of teaching and learning, and 50% in Mathematics or 60% in Mathematical Literacy.
- Higher Certificate in Economic and Management Sciences (98237): APS 15; an NSC with at least 30% in the language of teaching and learning. No bachelor’s pass is required, which makes it a common first step towards a BCom.
Because you may list up to three qualifications, UNISA suggests adding a lower-level option, such as a higher certificate, as your second or third choice. You cannot add or change a choice after you submit.
After 9 October: offers, the MOOC and registration
UNISA says applicants hear back four to six weeks after the closing date. If you receive an offer, you have 10 working days to accept it, and first-time applicants must finish the First-Year Experience MOOC, a short online course, before they can accept. You may accept only one offer, and you must then register for semester 1 of 2027 or apply again for semester 2. Our UNISA hub covers registration, fees and student services, and the prospectus hub lists the 2027 documents for contact universities.