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The College of Graduate Studies (CGS) forms part of Unisa’s Research, Postgraduate Studies,  Innovation and Commercialisation Portfolio and comprises the School of Transdisciplinary Research Institutes, the School of Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Studies, the Ethiopian Graduate Office and the Master’s and Doctoral Administrative Department. Multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary research is at the core of all our activities, thereby providing a unique range of opportunities for master’s and doctoral research under high quality supervision.

We work with other colleges in partnership with other universities and have a wide range of national and international networks through our academic staff. The School of Transdisciplinary Research Institutes houses the Institute for Social and Health Sciences (ISHS), the Institute for African Renaissance Studies (IARS), the Archie Mafeje Research Institute (AMRI), the Institute for Open Distance Learning (IODL) and the Institute for Science and Technology Education (ISTE).

In addition, we host the prestigious National Research Foundation/Department of Science and Technology South African Research Chair in Development Education; the National Research Foundation/Department of Science and Technology South African Research Chair in Social Policy;   the UNESCO/UNISA Africa Chair in Nanosciences and Nanotechnology and the Academy of African Languages and Science Strategic Project  which focuses on the technological development of the South African languages.

As Unisa’s answer to the national imperative to increase the number of doctoral graduates and provide for high-calibre researchers, CGS is also responsible for the administrative registration and examination processes and the facilitation of the research training of some 12 000 master’s and doctoral candidates that represent a large slice of the research potential in South African universities. Our aim is to assist the colleges where these students are registered and to increase the number of successful graduates from this cohort to ensure our competitiveness among emerging economies. With research methodology as a central platform of CGS, the College’s School of Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Studies has developed a suite of training programmes through workshops, colloquia, video conferences and virtual research environments. It reaches out to candidates in Unisa’s regional centres, from Gauteng to Akaki, Ethiopia. Many of the offerings are general, but some are tailor-made to fit the precise demands of specific fields of research.

The 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.

In CGS, we aim to

• provide a central hub for master’s and doctoral support within Unisa, South Africa and Africa;
• nurture a research community whose primary purpose is to sustain master’s and doctoral researchers within a supportive academic environment;
• promote and facilitate interdisciplinarity and open, distance and e-learning research;
• inculcate an African perspective in research;
• create a vibrant intellectual space for research innovation, debate and creative thinking;
• produce research and help Master’s and Doctoral candidates publish.

University of South Africa Unisa College of Graduate Studies Contact

University of South Africa Unisa College of Graduate Studies Departments