Master's & doctoral degrees

Master of Engineering

Qualification code: 90121
Qualification type: Full Research
NQF level: 9
Total credits: 180
SAQA ID: 112503

Admission requirements

A relevant Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (BEng) at NQF level 8, or a relevant B Eng Tech Hons at NQF level 8 with an average of 60%.
All students with foreign qualifications, including those with qualifications from African countries, must have their qualifications evaluated at SAQA. (www.saqa.org.za)

Applicants must first contact the relevant academic department and the potential supervisor. Topics and supervisors appear in the CSET M&D admissions policy document. Acceptance is based on viability of the intended research and available supervisory capacity. Competitive positions are filled on the basis of an approved selection procedure aligned with Unisa's policies on equality and diversity. Applicants need to demonstrate adequate mastery of academic English (TOEFL minimum score of 88 for the Internet-based test or a minimum score of 570 for the paper-based test or completion of prior degrees at a university where English is the prime language of instruction). Adequate exposure to appropriate research methods and methodologies in previous qualifications is required. Residency requirements apply for applicants who need to do laboratory work. Applicants with degree structures that are different from South African degrees or with applicable experience that may be relevant for admission will be required to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).


Time limits for this degree

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 180-credit structured research master’s degree must complete the study programme within three years. A student may make application to their supervisor for one additional year of study. The supervisor will consult with the Executive Dean of the College in which the student is registered.


Research master's degree

A research master's degree comprises a dissertation on an approved topic. You will be expected to have a research proposal approved in the first year of study.  

Please note: If you do not complete a research proposal in the first year of study, you will not be permitted to continue with the qualification. You will also be excluded from applying for admission to the same college for a period of two years.


Research focus areas

Click here to view a list of departments and research focus areas for the College of Science, Engineering and Technology.


Research outline

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:

  • Title
  • Summary of topic
  • Short literature review
  • Expected contribution of the study
  • Methodology to be followed
  • Availability of the data
  • List of references
  • Reasons why you are interested in the topic

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 Nice Areas (CNAs) into your research. These include the following: 

  1. Marine studies      
  2. Aviation and aeronautical studies      
  3. Automotive      
  4. Energy      
  5. Space study and square kilometre array      
  6. Fourth IR and digitalisation      
  7. Natural sciences (biotechnological studies)      
  8. Health studies/medicine      
  9. Feminist, womanist and bosadi theorisations      
  10. Student support and co-curricular activities      

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.

Student fees and funding your studies

Application fee

Pay the online application fee of R140,00 once you have received your Unisa student number.

Please note: 

  • The application fee is non-refundable even if you decide not to study through Unisa or do not qualify for admission to Unisa.
  • Use the student number you receive from Unisa AND the application fee reference number (eg STUDENTNUMBER 5370810030). 
  • Send your proof of payment to susdepid@unisa.ac.za 
  • Visit www.unisa.ac.za/paymentinfo for Unisa's payment methods and banking details. International students are advised to use the Flywire payment option

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. 


Student fees

Click here for the 2024 student fee information. The fee information for the 2025 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.

Apply for a student number and apply for admission

Application are online only! Applications for admission to master's and doctoral degrees to be open from 2 September to 22 November 2024

Applications for the following qualifications will, however, remain open until the end of June 2025: 

  • All qualifications in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (excluding Computer Science & Information Science qualifications)
  • Doctor of Philosophy (90040) - SET, MAT, TEC, CHE, COM, LIF, AST, STA, SCE & PHY options
  • Master of Science in Nature Conservation (full dissertation) (98022)
  • Qualifications in the Department of Decision Sciences (98597 - ORE; 98598; 98701)  
  • MPhil in Financial Management (90158) 
  • PhD in Management Studies (90021 - FIN)

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.

Registration

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 2025 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.

Curriculum