Update on UFS

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by rmm0484, Feb 4, 2012.

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  1. rmm0484

    rmm0484 Member

    All,

    Some of you have sent me PMs about my progress at UFS. Well, it was excruciatingly s-l-o-w until recently. I sent inquiries back in July, was accepted into the tail end of the MBA program this fall, but there was no real action until the end of this month, since the cohort was not at that part of the program yet. I must admit, it was hard to cool my jets and be patient... :ponder:

    Those of you wishing to attend ZA universities must realize that there are only a few "intakes" per year, there are no rolling admissions. Also, persistence is the key, you need to follow up regularly.

    I am in a small cohort of MBA students who have just completed a research class. (It was waived for me, since I already completed one). The next step is to send in a 10 page draft proposal of a field study. There is a published timeline for events, and responsibilities are clearly defined. I am in the process of bantering back and forth with my faculty adviser about the field study paper. I have just sent in the first draft. The field study appears to be a mini dissertation. Since I already have a Concept Paper for a dissertation, I will need to scale back, but that part is to be worked out with the professor. I am looking forward to working it out with him, since I had a few questions about my methodology in relation to what I was trying to demonstrate.

    I will probably be done by the end of the year or sooner, then hope to be part of the PhD process at UFS. (The field study was a pre-phd requirement for me, since I did not have a research masters).
     
  2. Messdiener

    Messdiener Active Member

    rmm0484,

    Thank you for posting this update. I had briefly looked at UFS when I first learned about South African universities through DI. The website did not originally mention many distance learning opportunities, so I gave up on it. Because of your post though, I decided to shoot a few e-mails out to a couple department chairs to see if their degrees or even individual classes could be completed at a distance.

    Thanks again!

    Messdiener
     
  3. rmm0484

    rmm0484 Member

    Messd-

    It is a bit of a kabuki dance to find the right department, but they are very accommodating. If you decide to inquire, keep me posted.
     
  4. Messdiener

    Messdiener Active Member

    rmm0484,

    Shockingly, I already heard back (within an hour!) from the Department of English, and their response was in the negative because I do not have a B.Hons. yet, only a B.A. I guess these are some of the pitfalls of dealing with foreign institutions. They have different requirements. In any case, I was still extremely shocked to hear back so swiftly. Hopefully, the other department I contacted will be more accomodating. We shall see!

    Thanks again for bringing this institution back to my mind!

    Messdiener
     
  5. Lukeness

    Lukeness Member

    If you have a four year B.A. it should be the equivalent of an SA B.A.Hons, you might need to remind them of this. You would probably also need a Saqa evaluation before they would accept your credentials.
     
  6. Messdiener

    Messdiener Active Member

    Lukeness: Perhaps it would be worthwhile, shooting a note back and reminding them about that? Alternatively, I am getting more and more interested in a program from the University of Nottingham (even if the price is quite a bit higher =P).

    OP: I heard back from the second department yesterday, which I was still shocked about, considering numerous people's complaints about the delay in hearing back from South African universities. In any case, I was told that they do not have distance courses at the level I requested, so I was referred to UNISA! Oh, well!
     
  7. rmm0484

    rmm0484 Member

    Although even UNISA enrolled students complain about the lack of response, there is a board similar to this one for students. Why not sign up and find out how to enroll, etc? I tried IACI Canada and they are no better/faster than going directly to UNISA. Why not make contact with someone in the department in which you wish to enroll? When I did this, I got speedy results, and even a follow-up, but I am at the doctoral level. The UNISA Study Buddies are at Study Buddies | Online forum for students studying at UNISA
    UNISA is worth pursuing, I assure you. It is a mega-university, and one of the oldest distance universities. If you like, I can help you with your questions if you cannot access this site. I have a UNISA number, so this is why they may have let me in. I know that getting a student number is the first step, the school will not even talk to you without it.
     
  8. Messdiener

    Messdiener Active Member

    Thanks for the response. While I have a number of interests and could pursue several options, the particular program I was talking to UFS about was in classical languages. I have posted about this previously here and gotten a lot of feedback on individual classes but not fuller programs. Unfortunately, I do not have the undergraduate degree (only some independent study) in classical languages (rather in modern Western European languages), so I am unable to continue at the graduate level at this time. From what I saw, UNISA has been phasing out the classical languages (along with some modern ones as well), so it does not seem like I will be able to pursue studies through that uni either. =(
     

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