| Qualification code: | 98006 |
| Qualification type: | Full Research |
| NQF level: | 10 |
| Total credits: | 360 |
| SAQA ID: | 111057 |
Purpose statement:
The purpose of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Environmental Management, Level 10 is to empower learners with the necessary skills that will enable them to identify, conceptualise, design and implement research projects that address complex and challenging Environmental Management problems. Moreover, the PhD will enable learners to either develop or propose solutions through models or theoretical amendments to current Environmental Management-related problems so as to improve economic and social well-being.
Therefore, the purpose of the qualification is to develop learners that will be able to demonstrate:
Expertise and critical knowledge in an area related to the Environmental Management discipline.
An ability to contribute to scholarly debates around theories of knowledge within specialisations of Environmental Management.
An ability to develop new methods, techniques, processes, systems or technologies that address a particular research area in Environmental Management.
An ability to apply specialist knowledge and theory in critically reflective, creative and novel ways to address complex practical and theoretical problems.
An ability to identify, address and manage emerging ethical issues and to advance processes of ethical decision-making, including monitoring and evaluation of the consequences of these decisions where appropriate.
The ability to make independent judgments about management of information or data in an iterative process of analysis and synthesis for the development of significant original insights into new complex and abstract ideas or issues within Environmental Management.
An ability to produce substantial, independent, in-depth and publishable work which meets international standards.
An understanding of theoretical underpinnings in the management of complex systems.
Intellectual independence, research leadership and management of research and research development in the Environmental Management discipline.
An ability to operate independently and take full responsibility for his or her work and, where appropriate, to lead, oversee and be held ultimately accountable for the overall governance of processes and systems.
An appropriate Master's Degree in Environmental Management or a related field. In the case of a course work Master's Degree the applicant must submit a PDF version of the research project that formed part of such a degree.
Applicants who would like to apply for admission through recognition of prior learning (RPL) must be at least 40 years old; and have at least five years' relevant work and research experience in the study field in which they would like to apply for admission to a qualification. For more information on RPL criteria visit: www.unisa.ac.za/rpl
All students with foreign qualifications, including those with qualifications from African countries, must have their qualifications evaluated at SAQA. (www.saqa.org.za)
In addition to the above requirements, all applicants must submit a transcript or an academic record, an updated CV as well as a 5-page PDF concept document describing their intended research. Guidelines for compiling the document can be found on the departmental website.
Students will be accepted on the following criteria: Suitability and viability of the intended research; Adequate supervisory capacity and research expertise in the department. An approved selection procedure which is in line with Unisa's policies on equality and diversity in the discipline or department will be implemented. Students, who are awaiting Masters examination results, must still submit applications by the due date. Applications will be considered once results become available.
All master's and doctoral qualifications are structured over a defined period. Refer to sections 4.12 and 4.13 in the Procedures for master’s and doctoral degrees.
A student registered for a research doctoral programme must complete the study programme within six years. A student may make application to the Registrar for one additional year of study who will only consider the application if it is recommended by the Executive Dean of the College in which the student is registered.
A doctoral degree will require you to undertake research at the most advanced academic levels culminating in the submission, assessment and acceptance of a thesis. Coursework may be required as preparation or value addition to the research, but does not contribute to the credit value of the qualification. The defining characteristic of this qualification is that you will be required to demonstrate high-level research capability and make a significant and original academic contribution at the frontiers of the discipline or field. This work must be of a quality to satisfy peer review and merit publication.
Click here to view a list of departments and research focus areas for the College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences.
Unisa’s admission policy has changed and you are now required to submit a detailed research outline for the qualification for which you apply. No application submitted without a detailed research outline will be considered. Although this research outline may differ for each qualification or academic department, the basic information required is as follows:
Your research outline must align with one of the departmental research focus areas. Please also take note of Unisa's Catalytic Niche Areas; you should strive to incorporate at least one of the Catalytic Niche Areas (CNAs) into your research. These include the following:
You can join the CGS-facilitated CNA working groups for the next series of meetings. For more information, visit www.unisa.ac.za/cgs
Click here for the guidelines on how to prepare a research outline.
Plagiarism of any form is unacceptable. Please take note of Unisa's Policy for Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism.
Pay the online application fee of R150,00 once you have received your Unisa student number.
Please note:
An application for a student number does not constitute an application for admission. After you receive your student number, you must still complete the online application for admission process and upload the compulsory supporting documents.
Click here for the 2025 student fee information. The fee information for the 2026 academic year will be available at the time of registration.
Students registering for qualifications through the Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL) should visit the SBL website for fee information, as the SBL uses a different fee structure.
Click here for student funding/bursary opportunities.
Application are online only! Apply for admission to master's or doctoral qualifications for the 2026 academic year between 2 September and 21 November 2025..
Click here to apply for a student number and apply for admission.
Please ensure that you apply for a Unisa student number (if applicable), apply for admission and upload all the supporting documents during the application period. If you already have a Unisa student number, you proceed to apply for admission and upload all the supporting documents.
You have 10 working days to upload all the supporting documents during the application period. If you do not comply with this requirement, your application will be declined and you will have to re-apply for admission during the current/next application period.
Only students whose application for admission was approved and re-registering students (who made sufficient progress during the current academic year) will be allowed to register online within the approved registration period for the 2026 academic year. Coursework master's degree students must await the official approval of their research proposal module, before attempting to re-register for the next academic year. Students with outstanding fees or a Library block on their accounts, will not be able to register online until these issues have been resolved. No printed registration forms will be accepted.
Click here for registration information.