College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

South Africa

Undergraduate entry requirements for students from South Africa.

Qualifications we accept 

We consider the National Senior Certificate. 

 

What grades do I need? 

Minimum requirements 

Grade 6 (70%) or higher in at least 4 NSC subjects (Life Orientation is not accepted), with grade 4 (50%) in English as Home Language or English as First Language.

Competition and selection

Entry to many of our degree programmes is very competitive. This is because we receive a high number of applications for a limited number of places.

All applicants who submit an on-time, fully complete application (including predicted grades, academic reference, and personal statement) and who meet or are predicted to meet the minimum entry requirements including any required subjects, will be put forward into the selection process. However, due to high levels of competition the grades you need to successfully get an offer may be much higher than the minimum entry requirements published below.

For entry to our most popular degree subjects/majors you may need a perfect or near-perfect score to get an offer

Required subjects 

Entry to some of our degrees requires you to have specific subjects in your school qualification.  

 

Where this is the case, your entry qualifications must: 

  • include the specific subject/s listed for the degree you are applying to, and; 

  • meet, or exceed, the grades specified. 

 

Required subjects are listed in the entry requirements section of the individual degree programme entries within our degree finder: 

Undergraduate degree finder

Where we ask applicants who are taking GCE A levels or GCSEs in specific subjects, we will ask you for comparable subjects at a comparable level in your qualification 

 

A level requirements  
A Level subject requirement

Equivalent requirement

Subject at A* 

Subject at grade 7 (80%) 

Subject at A*

Subject at grade 7 (80%) 

Subject at B

Subject at grade 6 (70%) 

GCSE requirements
GCSE subject requirement Equivalent requirement

Subject at A/7 

Subject at grade 6 (70%) 

Subject at B/6

Subject at grade 5 (60%) 

Subject at C/4

Subject at grade 4 (50%) 

Mathematics/English Literature requirements 

  • Where a subject requires Mathematics, Mathematic Literacy is not accepted in lieu of Mathematics. 
  • Where a subject requires English Literature, we can accept Home Language English but not English as First Additional Language. Advanced Programme English is recommended where available as excellent preparation for our Literature degrees 

English Language 

All applicants are required to demonstrate a level of English language competency, regardless of their nationality or country of residence. If you require a Student route visa to study in the UK, the English qualification that you use for admission to an undergraduate degree must be included in our list of accepted qualifications, unless you are a national of a majority English speaking country as defined by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). 

 

English Language entry requirements 

Other qualifications 

If you have taken the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma or GCE A levels, please look at the degree finder for our minimum entry requirements. 

 

If you have taken a qualification that is not listed, or have any other queries, please contact us for further information

 

Undergraduate admissions contact details

 

Update to entry requirements webpages 

We updated these webpages on 20 October 2022 to make them clearer to understand. There may have been changes since the last time you checked them, however, all entry requirements for 2023 entry are set at the same level as previously published. 

 

Understanding your offer

Information for applicants with South African qualifications who have received a conditional offer