University of South Africa

I've spent some time on their website looking at programs and I've noticed that they have both a Dept. of Mathematics and a Dept. of Statistics. I've thought that if I ever finish my BS in Math that a Masters in Stats might open up some interesting employment options. Plus, you can get some cool vuvuzelas from the alumni shop.

 

Esteemed All

UNISA is not accredited by any US Accrediting body. UNISA allowed its DETC accreditation to lapse in 2007, did it not?

 

Yes, why would UNISA need it? They are duly accredited in their own country.

Unisa received a Royal Charter in 1877. It currently operates under the Statute of the University of South Africa issued in terms of the Higher Education Act (No. 101 of 1997), and is accredited by the South African Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education (CHE). Its qualifications (including those of the SBL) are registered with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).

 

Exactly, and very well said. Former President Nelson Mandela is a graduate, for Pete's sake, along with numerous other luminaries. Anyone who seriously investigates UNISA will find layer upon layer of credibility. Start with Wikipedia. It may be an unusual choice for someone in North America, but it definitely will not get the "oh, THAT place that everyone jokes about" kind of reaction.

 

Perhaps I should have said "would a PhD from UNISA be accepted by an organization (such as a university) as an equivalent to a degree from a US University (for purposes of obtaining a teaching position?

 

Unisa Questions Response

Sorry for the delay. The exams can be taken at centres across North America that are registered with Unisa. Go to this link for the list: UNISA University distance learning education school IACI. I am not sure about the time it takes for materials to arrive. But if IACI can be involved it might speed things up. It must work as there are about 500 Unisa students in Canada.

My costs at Unisa per year for the DEd programme, which I took between 2002 and 2006 were approximately $1500 per annum. But that figure has gone up of course with the passing years. I see by the IACI web site that it currently stands at $2311. That is pretty good by any standard and is double the local fees.

The other benefit is that the degrees from any South African university are recognized internationally, esp within the Commonwealth and Europe which recognizes Unisa through its Royal Charter in 1877 and the current legislation in Higher Education in South Africa which governs all universities. This is the same system or something similar that governs universities in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom as well as European Union higher education.

My DEd from Unisa permitted me to continue my research and complete my postdoctoral studies in education at McGill University in Montréal, Canada. McGill is ranked worldwide at number 19 with QS World University Rankings and 81 with World University Ranking 2011 World University Ranking | Top 200 Universities in the world and
61 by ARWU ARWU 2010.

4icu ranks Unisa as 9th in Africa and 720th globally.

So there is credibility in the world for Unisa. Perhaps it would appear less so in the United States

I hope this helps and sorry again for the delay.

Brad

 

If you do a google search I think you'll find that there are people with UNISA degrees teaching all over the world. It shouldn't be surprising that most of them are on the African continent. If you don't get a teaching job you can't automatically blame the UNISA degree because there are people with PhDs from well known US schools that can't get college teaching positions.

Also, there are organizations that do equivalency assessments of non-US degrees. If you are fortunate enough to actually earn a UNISA degree I would advise you to go through that process.

 

Maclean is probably Canada’s #1 weekly news magazine. South African doctors and nurses are always good enough for to save your life. But somehow, their other qualifications are not good enough. It makes me wonder. In the US, there are more African trained doctors from some African countries practicing in one state like NY than are practicing in their entire country of birth.
Africa says Canada is stealing MDs - Canada - Macleans.ca

 

I was told yes and with big letters YES. I do have to have to have an equivalency assessment, but so what. I will have a PhD equal to any on the planet.

 

I'm guessing that it will cost you a couple of hundred dollars and it will be a slam dunk. No worries, just push through.

 

100, I think.....at least that is the service my employer uses (HCC)...in Florida...

 

View Post
Perhaps I should have said "would a PhD from UNISA be accepted by an organization (such as a university) as an equivalent to a degree from a US University (for purposes of obtaining a teaching position?


Yes, that is a big YES!!!

 

Thanks to all of you who replied. I did not mean to degrade UNISA or call it a mill, I was just concerned about the utility of the Degree without US accreditation. BTW I already teach online, it was a semi-hypothetical question.

 

I do too, teach online. I have for 5 years now ( online), 12 years in total.

 

Underdog.

I'm interested in the Doctorate degree in Security / Risk Management. Can someone tell me what the cost would be approximately. Total tuition for the degree. U.S. Dollars.
Tom Conroy [email protected]

 

It looks like approximately 10K Rands per year.

http://www.unisa.ac.za/contents/myRegistration/docs/MD_My_Reg_PG_fees.pdf

 

10985 Rands to be exact (per year for Doctoral dissertation programs). PLUS foreign students (African countries excluded) must pay an extra R4860 per year. At current conversion rates, that equates to $2188USD/year. Masters programs are just slightly less per year.

Still a pretty good deal.

 

An excellent bargain for a University with a very good reputation. However, some people who have posted have found them very frustrating to deal with. I think that is where the Canadian organization IAC (??) comes in handy in helping get people registered. Dr. Sweet (posted earlier) is quite impressive in terms of his education (two doctorates and post grad work at McGill which is one of the top universities in the world).

IIRC you must submit your credentials to SAQA for evaluation and equivalency. They apparently are not pushovers having an assumed academic path and your credentials must fit into that when evaluated by the school. For instance, an MDiv (90 credit hour Masters) is not considered as meeting the entry requirements into PhD study due to the nature of it (not an academic masters). Therefore the person must have that and an MTH (unless the MDiv had a built in thesis component).

The system there is somewhat different than here in terms of the depth expected of someone in a bachelors program, Masters program and so on. So, since you enter the MDiv often without the undergrad prep in the same field, it does not necessarily meet the requirements. At least that is my understanding.

South Africa is an excellent bargain due to the high quality of the education and value for the dollar (you often find profs here in the US with doctorates from South Africa).

 

Yeah, I would say that if Dr. Sweet recommeded it (IAC), that is the route I would go.

Abner