South Africa, master's admission

Find out what you need to submit, what previous studies meet the general entry requirements, how to meet the English requirement and any special instructions for your country of study.

Meeting the general entry requirements

The requirement for entry into a master’s programme is a Bachelor Honours degree/Bachelor National First degree (4 years) at NQF Level 8.

To document your eligibility, please submit your diploma and transcripts (for all years, including National Diploma/Higher National Diploma if accounted for in the bachelor’s degree).

Meeting the English requirement

You can meet the English requirement with your upper secondary studies if English is included in the upper secondary school leaving certificate.

If you’re documenting your English based on your upper secondary studies, you must provide documentation demonstrating you meet the requirement. Please submit your upper secondary documents as indicated for bachelor’s level studies.

Students with a Bachelor Honour’s degree/ Bachelor National First Degree (4 years) at NQF Level 8 from a recognised university in South Africa are considered to have a sufficient level of English.

You can also demonstrate that you meet the English language requirement through certain university studies, or an internationally approved English test.

Find out more at English language requirements

General document requirements

In order to complete your admissions application, you must provide the following documents so they arrive at University Admissions by the deadline.

  1. Certificates and diplomas of your completed degree(s) from an internationally recognised higher education institution. 

    The certificate/diploma must be officially issued by a representative of the Academic Registrar's Office, the Examinations Office, or the equivalent office that issues official transcripts of records at your university.

    Find out more about what officially issued means

    Are you in your final year of studies? You'll need to document this! Find out how at the final year of bachelor's studies page
  2. Transcripts of completed courses and grades for each semester included in your degree. If you have had courses credited/transferred from previous studies, you must also submit official transcripts for those courses.

    The documents must be officially issued by a representative of the Academic Registrar's Office, the Examinations Office, or the equivalent office that issues official transcripts of records at your university.

    Make sure the transcripts are dated so we can clearly see when they were issued.
  3. Proof of English language proficiency
  4. Proof that you meet the specific entry requirements

    It's important you check the university's website for information regarding the specific entry requirements for the course or programme you have applied to and any other documentation they may require, such as dissertations, essay summaries, letters of recommendation, or letters of intent. Please do not submit any additional documentation unless it is specifically requested by the university.
  5. In order to speed up the processing of your application, we require a copy of the page in your passport with your personal data and photograph, or some other identification document.

Translation of documents not required

As documents from this country are normally issued in English, you don't need to provide translations.

Special document instructions

Self-retrieved digital transcripts from a student portal or similar will not be accepted.

Your name and birthdate must match on all documents

For your documents to be accepted:

  • the name and birthdate provided must be the same on all your documents (ID, transcripts, degree certificate, etc.)
  • the name on your documents must match the name you reported in your account at Universityadmissions.se

If the names are different, you must provide us with documentation (for example, a marriage certificate if you've been married) as to why they don't match.

If the birthdate on any of your documents is different from your passport, the difference must be explained with official documentation.

This documentation must be either issued in English or Swedish or, if issued in another language, officially translated to Swedish or English.

The easiest way to get your documentation to us is by uploading it here at Universityadmissions.se. 

Incomplete documentation

It's your responsibility to ensure that you have read and understood the application requirements and have gathered and submitted all the necessary components of the admissions application by the deadline.

Verification

University Admissions in Sweden checks the authenticity of your documents with the issuing institution. University Admissions in Sweden reserves the right to revoke admission if supporting documents are discovered to be fraudulent.

Submission of false documents is a violation of Swedish law and is considered grounds for legal action.

Last updated: 16 March 2023