The Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) does not currently offer its own MCom and PhD qualifications. However, these qualifications form part of the qualifications offered by the Department of Business Management, and are as follows:
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1. Masers of Commerce MCom in Business Management Qualification stream: Human Resource Management Qualification code: 98582 – HRM Qualification type: Full research More information pertaining to the admission requirements, application for admission, time limits for this degree, registration and curriculum can be found by clicking here. |
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2. Doctoral in Philosophy (PhD) in Management Studies Qualification stream: Human Resource Management Qualification code: 90021 - HRM Qualification type: Full research More information pertaining to the admission requirements, application for admission, registration, time limits for the degree and curriculum can be found by clicking here |
Please take note that all masters and doctoral qualification applications/registrations must be completed online. No fax or self-help applications will be accepted. Please click here to download the brochure containing information explaining the application process.
Take note that students who obtained their qualifications outside the borders of South Africa must have their qualifications evaluated by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and upload a SAQA certificate of evaluation during the application process (https://www.saqa.org.za).
Plagiarism of any form is unacceptable. Please take note of Unisa's Policy for Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism. The work you produce, including your research outline, must be the result of your own skill and effort. Plagiarism is the act of using another person's words verbatim without properly citing the author or copying or altering another person's work (or portions of it) without giving due credit and providing information about the source. Your application for admission to Unisa will be declined if any form of plagiarism is detected. Click here for more information.
Staff in the DHRM can offer supervision in a broad range of fields. There are presently three research focus areas (RFA) in the DHRM:
More information on the RFAs, staff research interests and current Master’s and Doctoral students are available on our Departmental website under Research.
The department currently has about 70 masters and doctoral students at different stages in the postgraduate programme and 25 masters and doctoral students busy with their research proposals Please click here to view a list of current research being undertaken.
Applications for admission to the master’s and doctoral qualifications for the 2023 academic year will open from 14 September to 31 January 2023. For more information on the application and registration process, please click here.
Research at postgraduate level is very different from honours level. At Masters and especially PhD level, the responsibility belongs to the student. No research topic or approach will be forced upon a student. It is the individual responsibility of each student to take ownership of his/her chosen topic. Thus, as with best practices across the world, a student must do the necessary research and develop a viable proposal relevant to the department’s RFAs. At this level, an applicant who intends to pursue a masters or doctoral degree MUST have a good understanding of (i) the area within which he/she is interested, (ii) the current discussions within that area and (iii) be able to provide a convincing explanation in terms of the viability, applicability, and motivation for the study.
It is advised that all prospective applicants familiarise themselves with the department’s website, the RFA described above, and acquaint yourself with the supervision team’s area of interest/research/publication works. Unfortunately, no supervision guidance can be provided in the application phase. In addition, no supervisor can commit to supervise or accept any student until the selections and admission are completed. All students meeting the minimum admission requirements will be ranked and selected based on their academic record and research outline submitted and based on the departmental selection criteria.
To assist you as you develop a workable proposal, the list of topics that have been successfully supervised and that are currently under supervision currently should be consulted and interrogated extensively, in order for prospective students not to duplicate topics. Prospective students are required to consult the recommended outline for masters and doctoral proposals before applying.
Finally, prospective applicants can contact the departmental M&D coordinator or the chairperson of the departmental research and ethics committee to discuss their intended research agenda. Please familiarise yourself with the application procedures and timelines detailed on the Unisa postgraduate applications page. Any communication with departmental representatives does not constitute an acceptance of your application.
Applicants' attention is drawn to the following sections of the Procedure for Masters and Doctoral Degrees:
Section 3.1 states “The minimum qualifications for admission to Master’s and Doctoral studies are set out in the Admissions Policy and are informed by the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (2013). UNISA is, however, not obliged to accept any prospective student who meets the minimum requirement as there may be other factors on the basis of which the prospective student cannot be accepted. Factors that will be considered before admitting the prospective student to register include, but are not limited to, the following: the prospective student’s academic record, the topic he or she wishes to research, the capacity and expertise to supervise the prospective student and possible limitations imposed by enrolment planning. Such factors will be indicated on the college websites”.
Section 4.1 states “A candidate whose application for a master’s degree by dissertation, or a doctoral degree, is accepted, is advised by the College: Graduate Studies, Master’s and Doctoral Administration Support section to register for the appropriate compulsory research proposal module. The outcome of this module is an approved research proposal. From 2023 students will register for the dissertation/thesis that incorporates the research proposal; the latter is thus no longer a standalone module”.
Applicants' attention is drawn to section 3.1 of the Procedure for Master’s and Doctoral Degrees that states “The minimum qualifications for admission to Master’s and Doctoral studies are set out in the Admissions Policy and are informed by the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (2013). UNISA is, however, not obliged to accept any prospective student who meets the minimum requirement as there may be other factors on the basis of which the prospective student cannot be accepted. Factors that will be considered before admitting the prospective student to register include, but are not limited to, the following: the prospective student’s academic record, the topic he or she wishes to research, the capacity and expertise to supervise the prospective student and possible limitations imposed by enrolment planning. Such factors will be indicated on the college websites”.
Please note that the department only has space for a maximum of 14 PhD and 45 Master’s new students for the 2023 academic year (subject to the suitability and viability of the intended research and research expertise in the department). This means that the competition to undertake a Master’s and Doctoral qualification is very high and the selection criteria is stringent. This also implies that unfortunately not all applicants can be accommodated.
Candidates will be allocated to a supervisor/s but will be required to work independently within the requirements of higher degree studies. Take note of Unisa’s Procedures for master’s and Doctoral Degrees as well as the M&D related policies and procedures for further information.
All applicants accepted into the programme will be expected to produce a viable proposal as stipulated in the Procedure for Masters’ and Doctoral Degrees. Additionally, the candidate should submit his/her work to be reviewed by a blind peer review process. Moreover, all successful applicants will be required to present their proposals at the Departmental M&D Colloquium, which takes place in November every year.
Please note that from 2023, the research proposal module will no longer be a standalone module for full research Master’s and Doctoral qualifications. Students who are admitted will register for the dissertation/thesis in their first year of study. Only those proposals that are accepted/approved by the Departmental Research and Ethics Committee (DREC) will be allowed to continue with their dissertation or thesis. 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 be excluded from applying for admission to the same college for a period of two years.
As per section 2.6 of Unisa’s Procedures for Master’s and Doctoral Degrees, it should be noted that from 2020, first time Master’s and Doctoral candidates are required to submit a manuscript(s) for publication in a peer reviewed accredited journal as part of the thesis or dissertation phase. Acknowledgement of submission of manuscript(s) from the journal editor should be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies: Master’s and Doctoral Examination section by the supervisor. The submission of the manuscript(s) should be done before the final submission of the thesis or dissertation for external examination.
In the case of a dissertation (Master’s degree), one manuscript is required and in the case of a thesis (Doctoral Degree), two manuscripts should be submitted for publication. Further information in this regard will be communicated to registered students during their studies.
The College of Graduate Studies (CGS) Postgraduate Administrative Department deals with the applications, admissions and registrations of about 45 000 students registered for postgraduate qualifications, namely Postgraduate Diplomas, Honours, Master’s and Doctoral degrees, as well as with the assessment coordination for Master’s and Doctoral dissertations and theses. The CGS furthermore offers various training sessions/research support to postgraduate students. More information can be obtained by clicking here.
The following training is available to M&D students:
Last modified: 2023/08/07