UNISA Available Courses 2027 & APS Requirements Guide

If you’re planning to study at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 2027, two questions matter more than almost anything else: what is your APS, and is your chosen course actually still open for applications? UNISA is Africa’s largest open distance learning university, with more than 300 qualifications on offer, but not every qualification uses the same entry score, and popular courses can close to new applicants well before the general deadline. This guide breaks down exactly how the Admission Point Score (APS) system works, why it varies from course to course, how school-leavers from Ghana and elsewhere in Africa are assessed differently, and how to check — in real time — whether the course you want is open, full, or closed for the 2027 intake.

Table of Contents

What Is APS and Why Does UNISA Use It?

The Admission Point Score (APS) is a numerical way of summarising your final school results so a university can quickly compare applicants against a qualification’s minimum entry requirement. UNISA uses it to screen undergraduate applicants alongside other requirements such as English or Mathematics proficiency, subject prerequisites, and, for some qualifications, National Senior Certificate (NSC) endorsement (Higher Certificate, Diploma, or Bachelor’s pass).

APS on its own does not guarantee you a place. UNISA states plainly that meeting the minimum requirement for a qualification does not automatically mean you’ll be admitted, because many qualifications have limited space and demand can outstrip the number of available seats in any given year.

How UNISA Calculates Your APS

UNISA’s APS is based on your six best recognised 20-credit subjects on your National Senior Certificate results. Life Orientation is a 10-credit subject and is specifically excluded from the calculation, so it does not count toward your score even if you passed it well.

Each subject result is converted from a raw percentage into a point value on a 7-point scale:

80–100% = 7 points (Level 7 / A)
70–79% = 6 points (Level 6 / B)
60–69% = 5 points (Level 5 / C)
50–59% = 4 points (Level 4 / D)
40–49% = 3 points (Level 3 / E)
30–39% = 2 points (Level 2 / F)
0–29% = 1 point (Level 1 / GG)

Add the points from your six best subjects together and you get your APS. The maximum possible score is 42 (six subjects at 7 points each). If you wrote matric before 2009, or completed a Senior Certificate, a National Certificate (Vocational), or another equivalent qualification, UNISA applies its own conversion tables to translate those results onto the same NSC-based scale.

Why APS Requirements Differ by Qualification

There is no single “UNISA APS cutoff.” Each of UNISA’s 300+ qualifications sets its own minimum, and that minimum is decided by the relevant college based on the academic demands of the programme, the number of available spaces, and how competitive demand for that qualification has been historically. As a broad pattern:

Higher Certificates (one-year, foundational qualifications) tend to carry the lowest APS thresholds of any level UNISA offers.
Diplomas, including many career-focused fields such as engineering-related diplomas, IT, and administrative fields, generally sit in the middle band.
Bachelor’s degrees, particularly in the sciences, commerce, and professional fields, usually require a noticeably higher APS than certificates or diplomas at the same college, and popular degrees (such as many BCom and BSc streams) can carry stricter subject-specific requirements too — for example a minimum Mathematics (not Mathematical Literacy) level.

The table below illustrates this general pattern using publicly reported example figures. Treat it strictly as a guide to how the system tends to work, not as this cycle’s confirmed numbers — APS minimums are reviewed and can change every year, and the only reliable source for a specific qualification’s current APS is UNISA’s own qualification page.

Qualification Type (Illustrative)	Typical APS Band (Approximate, Subject to Change)	Notes
Higher Certificate (e.g. Accounting Sciences, Records Management)	Roughly low-to-mid teens	Generally the most accessible entry point; often used as a stepping stone into a diploma or degree.
Diploma (e.g. Human Resource Management, Engineering-related diplomas, IT)	Roughly high teens	Usually higher than a Higher Certificate at the same college; some require specific subject passes.
Bachelor’s Degree (e.g. BA, BSc, BCom streams)	Roughly low-to-mid twenties and up	Varies significantly by stream; competitive BCom/BSc specialisations may set higher thresholds and require specific Mathematics levels.

Always confirm the exact current APS, subject prerequisites, and NSC endorsement level for your specific qualification of interest on UNISA’s official qualifications pages before you apply.

How International and African Applicants Are Evaluated

If you completed your school-leaving qualification outside South Africa — a WASSCE result from Ghana or Nigeria, for instance — UNISA does not simply plug your results into the NSC-based APS formula. Instead, your school qualification is benchmarked against UNISA’s (and the Matriculation Board’s) list of recognised qualifications per country. This list determines whether your certificate is accepted as equivalent to a South African NSC for admission purposes, and at what level.

Practical points for African applicants:

UNISA maintains country-specific lists of acceptable school qualifications through the Matriculation Board process, so your WASSCE, GCE, or other national school-leaving certificate is checked against that country’s listing rather than converted into a raw APS number in the South African sense.
If your qualification meets the requirement only on a conditional basis, UNISA may facilitate a Conditional Exemption Certificate as part of processing your application; this can involve an additional Matriculation Board fee and a separate application form.
All documents not already in English or Afrikaans must be submitted with original sworn (certified) translations.
You’ll still need to meet any subject-specific requirements (such as a Mathematics pass) for the particular qualification you’re applying for, so check the individual qualification page carefully.

Because this evaluation process can take time, applying as early as possible in the application window gives UNISA’s admissions team more room to process international documentation before the qualification you want reaches capacity.

How to Check If a Specific Course Is Open, Closed, or Filling Up

UNISA’s general application closing date for the 2027 cycle (undergraduate, Honours, and Postgraduate Diploma) is 9 October 2026, with applications opening on 17 August 2026. But that general date is not the whole story. Because some qualifications receive far more applications than there are available places, UNISA typically publishes a separate list of qualifications that close earlier or become unavailable partway through the application window — sometimes called a “closed courses” or “qualifications not available for late application” notice. This list is updated as the cycle progresses, so a course that was open in August could be full by September.

To check the real-time status of a specific course, always:

Go directly to UNISA’s official qualifications search tool on unisa.ac.za (filter by college and qualification level) rather than relying on third-party course lists, which can be outdated.
Open the specific qualification’s page to see its current admission requirements, APS, and any status notice about closure or limited availability.
Check UNISA’s official “what’s new” and closed-qualifications announcements periodically throughout the application window (August to October), since this changes as courses fill up.
Watch UNISA’s official social media and myUNISA announcements for late-breaking updates on qualifications that have closed to new applicants.

What to Do If Your First-Choice Course Closes Early

Because places are limited and popular qualifications can close before the general deadline, it pays to plan ahead rather than react after the fact:

Apply as early in the window as possible. Submitting in August rather than waiting until late September or October gives you the best chance before a popular qualification reaches capacity.
List a realistic backup qualification. UNISA allows you to rank multiple qualification choices on one application, so include at least one alternative you’d genuinely be willing to study if your first choice closes or you don’t meet its APS.
Consider a stepping-stone route. If a competitive Bachelor’s degree is out of reach this cycle, a related Higher Certificate or Diploma with a lower APS can be a legitimate path to build up credits and later transfer or articulate into the degree.
Recheck the qualification search tool regularly between August and October, since availability status is not static.
Don’t wait for a late-application window to appear. UNISA has stated it does not accept late applications or documents submitted after the general closing date, so treat 9 October 2026 as a hard deadline rather than a guideline, and don’t rely on the possibility of an exception.

Frequently Asked Questions

What APS do I need to get into UNISA?

There is no single APS for UNISA as a whole. Each of its 300+ qualifications sets its own minimum APS, so the score you need depends entirely on which specific course you’re applying for. Check the individual qualification page for the exact current requirement.

Does Life Orientation count toward my APS?

No. Life Orientation is a 10-credit NSC subject and is excluded from UNISA’s APS calculation, which is based on your six best 20-credit subjects.

I’m applying from Ghana with a WASSCE certificate — how is my APS calculated?

Rather than converting your WASSCE results into a South African-style APS number, UNISA checks your certificate against its recognised list of acceptable school qualifications for your country (via the Matriculation Board process). You may need a Conditional Exemption Certificate as part of this process, and any documents not in English or Afrikaans must have certified sworn translations.

Can a course close before UNISA’s general application deadline?

Yes. Some qualifications, particularly popular ones with limited space, can close to new applications before the general closing date once places fill up. Always check the official qualifications search tool for the current status of your specific course rather than assuming it will stay open until the general deadline.

Will UNISA accept a late application if my course reopens spots?

UNISA’s stated policy is that it does not accept late applications or documents submitted after the official closing date. Don’t count on a late-application exception — apply as early as possible instead.

What if I meet the APS requirement but still don’t get admitted?

Meeting the minimum APS does not guarantee a place. Because some qualifications have limited space, UNISA may still be unable to admit every applicant who meets the minimum requirement. This is another reason to apply early and to list a backup qualification choice.

Related Guides

Getting into your chosen UNISA qualification for 2027 comes down to two things: understanding how APS works for your specific course, and moving fast before demand closes it off. Calculate your APS honestly using your six best NSC subjects, confirm your exact requirement on UNISA’s official qualification page, and if you’re applying from Ghana or elsewhere in Africa, get your school qualification checked against UNISA’s recognised list early so document processing doesn’t cost you a place. Apply as soon as the window opens on 17 August 2026, keep a realistic backup qualification in mind, and check the official course search tool regularly right up until the 9 October 2026 deadline.