Undergraduate & honours qualifications

Higher Certificate in Life and Environmental Sciences

Qualification code: 98366
NQF level: 5
Total credits: 120
SAQA ID: 110744
APS/AS: 15
Rules:
Students who have passed ENN103F will be credited for ENG1503. Students who passed PTP1501 need not register for BLG1501.
Purpose statement:
The primary purpose of the qualification is to provide learners with the basic introductory knowledge, cognitive and conceptual tools and practical techniques for Higher Education studies in life, environmental and related fields. The qualification emphasises general scientific principles, concepts, and theories that will improve the students' ability to grasp scientific concepts at higher levels. It exposes the learners to techniques for higher education studies in life, environmental and related fields. Qualifying learners would have attained a basic level of higher education knowledge and competence in life and environmental sciences, and will be capable of applying such knowledge and competence in the workplace. It is therefore meant for those who do not meet the requirements for entry into the Diploma qualifications to gain enough competency to be admitted into such. Students who complete the qualification are able to articulate into Diploma, Bachelor of Consumer Sciences and Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Environmental Management qualifications.
This qualification will be presented using both online and distance learning modes.

Who can register?

  • Applicants (new applicants & Unisa students who applied for admission to a new qualification) may only register if they have received an offer of placement from Unisa and have accepted the offer online. Unisa reserves the right to not process and / or to cancel your registration if it is found that you were incorrectly admitted to a qualification. 
  • Re-registering students may register for the 2024 academic year once the registration period opens.

Please note: Should you wish to start a new qualification, please apply online for the alternative qualification during the prescribed application period.


How to choose your modules

Each Unisa qualification is structured in such a way that you need to pass a certain number of NQF level credits within a certain amount of time in order to graduate.

  • Co-requisite: Module A is a co-requisite for Module B. You want to register for Module B, but have not yet passed Module A. You must then register for both Modules A and B simultaneously. You may NOT cancel your registration for Module A unless Module B is also cancelled.

  • Pre-requisite: If Module A is a pre-requisite for Module B, you must pass Module A before you may register for Module B.

You may not register for more than the allowed maximum number of credits / modules per academic year and / or semester: 60 credits per semester or 120 credits per academic year.

The maximum number of credits do not include supplementary and / or aegrotat examinations from a previous semester. Modules taken for non-degree / non-diploma purposes also count towards the maximum number of credits allowed.

You must take your available time into consideration when choosing your modules, as this will impact your academic performance. You need approximately

  • 6 to 8 hours per week for semester modules.
  • 4 to 6 hours per week for year modules.

Click here for more information on managing your studies.

Curriculum for this qualification

While you are deciding on the modules for which you will be registering, write down the module names and codes so that you have something to refer to when completing your registration.

Please click on the modules below to see further information (eg semester/year module, NQF level)

First level

Students who have passed ENN103F need not register for ENG1503.
Students who have passed PTP1501 need not register for BLG1501.

Module (Please click on the module to see further information) Pre-requisite/Co-requisite/Recommendation
Group A. Compulsory
BLG1501 - Basic Biology
BNU1501 - Basic Numeracy
CSP1501 - Introduction to Applied Sciences
ENG1503 - Academic Language and Literacy in English
ENL1501 - Environmental Literacy
EUP1501 - Ethical Information and Communication Technologies for Development Solutions
GEL1503 - Fundamentals of Earth Sciences
GGH1502 - World Issues: A Geographical Perspective
INS1502 - Developing Information Skills for Lifelong Learning
QMI1500 - Elementary Quantitative Methods Co-requisite:BNU1501