Unlike most universities, Fort Hare still has its 2027 undergraduate applications open as of early October 2026. UFH opened applications on 1 May 2026 and closes them on 31 October 2026, and the application fee is R120. That leaves a few weeks to read the requirements, work out your points and choose a programme before the portal shuts.
Fort Hare calls its 2027 prospectus an “Undergraduate Study Guide”. It is a two-page fold-out PDF, not a thick booklet: one sheet holds a requirements table for each of the six faculties, listing every programme with its code, subject levels and minimum APS. The full application steps sit on our Fort Hare online application guide, so this page sticks to what the study guide asks of you.
The UFH documents to download
- UFH Undergraduate Study Guide 2027 (PDF, dated June 2026): entry requirements for Education, Law, Health Sciences, Management and Commerce, Social Sciences and Humanities, and Science and Agriculture, plus faculty enquiry emails
- UFH General Prospectus 2026 (158 pages): the university’s rules and general information. No 2027 edition of this book was on the site in October 2026, so use the study guide for entry requirements
Life Orientation is part of the Fort Hare score
Here Fort Hare differs from many universities. Every table in the study guide lists Life Orientation with a minimum of level 4 (50–59%), and the UFH admissions page sets level 4 in Life Orientation as a general entry rule for bachelor’s degrees, alongside level 4 in English and in four other subjects. The Management and Commerce section adds that Life Orientation is capped at level 4 when the faculty calculates your APS, so a 7 for LO still counts as 4 there. UFH’s general minimum is 26 points, and most degrees ask for more.
Watch for the brackets in the APS column. Many programmes print a figure such as “28 (29 with ML)”, which means you need one extra point if you offer Mathematical Literacy instead of Mathematics. Science degrees select strictly on merit, and the guide says tied applicants may write an aptitude test.
Entry levels for popular UFH degrees
These figures come straight from the 2027 study guide. “Level 4” means 50–59% and “level 5” means 60–69%.
- Bachelor of Laws (LLB): APS 30; English level 4; a 3 for Mathematics, or a 4 for Mathematical Literacy or Technical Mathematics; four other subjects at level 4; Life Orientation level 4.
- BCom in Accounting: APS 32; English level 5 and Mathematics level 5; of the four other subjects, two at level 4 and two at level 5. The extended version asks for APS 28 with English and Mathematics at level 4.
- Bachelor of Nursing: APS 28 (29 with ML); English level 4; Mathematics level 4 or Mathematical Literacy level 5; Physical Science and Life Sciences at level 4.
- Bachelor of Science (all streams): APS 28; level 4 for English, for Mathematics and for Physical Sciences, plus Life Sciences, Geography, Agriculture or Information Technology at level 4. The extended BSc takes APS 27 with level 3 in either Mathematics or Physical Science.
- Bachelor of Commerce: APS 28 with Mathematics at level 4; the extended curriculum version takes APS 27 with Mathematics at level 3.
- Bachelor of Social Work: APS 27; English and another language at level 4; of four other subjects, one at level 3 and three at level 4.
- BEd in Foundation Phase Teaching: APS 28 (29 with ML); English level 4; Mathematics level 4 or Mathematical Literacy level 5; isiXhosa or Afrikaans (home or first additional language) at level 4.
Alice, Bhisho and East London, and the extended route
Fort Hare teaches across three Eastern Cape campuses, and its admissions page lists separate admissions staff for Alice, Bhisho and East London. Several faculties run extended programmes that add one year and extra academic support for applicants who fall a point or a subject level short. The study guide states that international applicants cannot apply for these extended programmes.
For general admission questions, the study guide gives applications2027@ufh.ac.za; each faculty also has its own enquiry address in the PDF. To check Fort Hare against other institutions, our university prospectus hub collects the 2027 documents for each university. If you plan to fund your studies through government aid, apply to NSFAS separately; a UFH application does not cover it.