University of Venda

Home | About Us | Email | Contact Us | Sitemap

How to Apply

Undergraduate Admission

Postgraduate Admission

Admission and Registration

General Regulations

Assessment and
Examination Regulations

Housing and Accomodation

Tuition Fees

Financial Aid

Student Support Services

Student Internship

Career Development

Student Information

Postgraduate Admission

Rules for Postgraduate Degrees

G.16 General

Post-graduate modules shall be offered subject to the availability of suitably qualified staff in the appropriate fields of study.
A student who has enrolled for post-graduate studies must renew his/her registration at the beginning of each academic year until he/she has complied with all the requirements of the degree.

G.17 Honours Bachelor Degree

These are basic regulations, but prospective candidates are advised that some departments may stipulate additional requirements:

To qualify for admission, a student shall possess a Bachelor's degree; or if the Senate approves, the student shall have completed the modules for a Bachelor's degree, or equivalent status shall have been conferred on the student by Senate.
A candidate shall satisfy Senate regarding his/her proficiency in that subject before he/she is admitted to the module, if he/she has obtained the Bachelor's degree
- at the University of Venda, without the subject envisaged having been one of his/her major programme, or
- at other university.
For full-time students the Honours degree is offered over one academic year and students write and present themselves for continuous assessment during the year of registration. For part-time students the degree is normally offered over two years. Part-time students are assessed at the same time as full-time students during scheduled assessment and examination periods. Except with the special permission of Senate, the duration of the full-time study shall not exceed two years, and the duration of the part-time study shall not exceed three years.
A student who fails more than one module at Honours level shall not be assessed on any modules or to be re-registered for such modules in that subject except with the permission of Senate.
To be awarded the degree, a candidate shall pass modules as prescribed by individual Departments. Where the curriculum consists of a number of modules, a candidate shall obtain an aggregate of at least 50 % with a subminimum of 40 % in each module, unless otherwise stipulated by Departments. In the case of a curriculum consisting of a number of distinct modules, a candidate shall obtain an aggregate of at least 50 % in each course/module, with a subminimum of 40 % in each module.
A candidate who fails one module in the curriculum, and obtains an aggregate of at least 45 % may, on recommendation of the Head of Department concerned, be admitted for assessment in that module on one further occasion.
Notwithstanding the rules on supplementary examination, supplementary examination will not be offered to Honours students except with permission of Senate.
No semester or year mark is taken into consideration unless otherwise stipulated by individual Departments.
To obtain the degree cum laude a candidate must attain an aggregate of at least 75%.
Duration of Study: The degree shall not be conferred on a candidate before at least one year has elapsed since he obtained the Bachelor's degree or another degree as set out in the School rules and unless he/she has been registered for one year at this University.

G.18 Master's Degree

Admission

Subject to special provisions in the School rules, a student shall, to be admitted, have obtained the Honours Bachelor's degree in the subject for which he wants to enrol or have had equivalent status conferred on him/her by Senate and/ or have satisfied Senate as to his proficiency in the subject.
Before a student's application for registration can be considered, the title or topic of his projected dissertation and/or examination topic, if applicable, together with a brief outline of the research design, must be submitted to the Registrar for recommendation by the Head of the Department and approval by the School Board concerned.
A student will be required to visit the University for an interview with the Head of the Department concerned before registration.
Unless otherwise decided by the Senate, a second Master's degree may not be taken in the same subject.

Duration of Study

Unless otherwise decided by Senate and subject to special provision in the School rules, the degree may be conferred if the candidate has been registered for at least one academic year for the degree concerned at this University.
The maximum period of study is four years. If a student fails to complete his studies within four years of registering for the degree, Senate may refuse to renew his registration or may renew it subject to any conditions it may deem fit to impose.
For the duration of his/her studies a student shall register each year by the stipulated date. Re-registration is subject annually to the recommendation of the Head of Department.
The Senate may, at any time, suspend or cancel the registration of a student who, in its view, is not making satisfactory progress in his studies.
A student who wishes to defer his studies at any stage must submit a motivated application beforehand. Such deferment will, if granted, be for a period of one year only, after which a further application must be submitted. Deferment will, at most, be granted twice. A student who applies for deferment shall be bound by provisions of G.8.

Examination and Assessment

Subject to special provision in the School rules, the assessment consists of the submission of a dissertation and/ or a written/oral examination.
The examiners of a dissertation may, if they deem it necessary, call the candidate in to clarify any specific aspect(s) of his/her dissertation topic before recommending the result. The Dean or the Chairman of Senate may also request such clarification.
No person may submit a dissertation for assessment more than once without the Special permission of Senate.
A candidate who wishes to receive his degree at the April/May graduation ceremony shall notify the Registrar not later than 30 September of the preceding year that he intends to submit his dissertation for assessment. The dissertation shall be submitted by 30 November or by special written permission of the Head of the Department, the Dean and the Registrar, not later than 15 January: provided that this does not constitute a guarantee on the part of the University that the dissertation will have been examined in time for the ensuing graduation ceremony.
(a) A candidate shall not submit a dissertation unless it is accompanied by a written declaration by the supervisor in which permission for so doing is granted. Such declaration does not commit the supervisor to recommend that the degree be awarded.

(b) In cases where a co-supervisor has been appointed, the supervisor must ensure that the co-supervisor agrees to the submission of the dissertation.
For assessment purposes, a candidate shall submit at least three suitably bound copies of the dissertation, which remain the property of the University. After approval of the dissertation, and before conferment of the degree, the candidate shall submit a further two hard-bound copies and one unbound copy, which remain the property of the University. A copy must be donated to both the University and National Library. A candidate must submit a further bound copy to the Research and Publication Committee if he received a bursary from the HSRC or CSIR.

Graduate Examination Committee

The Senate shall appoint the following:

three examiners, of whom at least two shall be external;
an examination committee which shall include at least two external examiner and one internal examiner who is not a supervisor or co-supervisor(s);
a chairperson of the examination committee, in a no-examination capacity, who shall normally be the Head of the Department or another senior member of the Department subjected to (c) above.

No dissertation which has previously been submitted for a degree at any university shall be accepted, but material taken by the candidate from existing publications may be incorporated in the dissertation. Such material must be clearly acknowledged. If called upon, the candidate shall submit, together with his dissertation a copy of every dissertation previously submitted by him for another degree, whether it was accepted or not.
The dissertation shall show proof of the candidate's proficiency in the field and ability to do research independently. The contents should be logical, the language of a high standard and the technical work satisfactory.
- A summary of not more than 150 words (350 words for a doctoral thesis) in the language in which the dissertation is written, shall form an integral part of the dissertation. The summary must be submitted to the supervisor for approval.
- If the dissertation is not written in English, each copy of the dissertation must also contain a copy of the summary in English.
A dissertation shall be typed in the A4 format, on good quality paper with no show-through, using at least one and half spacing and leaving a left margin of at least 2 centimetres. The dissertation shall be bound between hard covers with a glued spine. The title of the dissertation and the name of the candidate shall appear on the cover as well as on the spine of each bound copy. The dissertation may not be typed on stencil and must in the opinion of the University, be suitable for microfilming.
The title page of a dissertation shall bear a declaration such as the following (for a degree the curriculum of which comprises only a dissertation);

(Full title of the dissertation.....................................................................................… by (full name of the candidate) ..................................................................................

submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of …………………………………… in the subject of ........................................................................... at the University of Venda Supervisor/Co-supervisor(if applicable)Date submitted ...................................
When the dissertation is submitted for examination, it must be accompanied by the following declaration by candidate: I,.............................................................................................. hereby declare that the dissertation for the ......................................... .degree at the University of Venda hereby submitted by me has not previously been submitted for a degree at this or any other university, and that it is my own work in design and in execution and that all referenced material contained therein has been duly acknowledged.

Signature: …………………………………………………………..
Date: ……………………………………….
The pass mark for a dissertation is 50 %.
A Master's degree can be obtained with distinction. The distinction mark is 75 %. Any special requirement in respect of a pass with distinction are indicated in the School rules.
(a) The University is authorised to make microfiche copies of a dissertation or thesis and to distribute such copies as it deems fit.

(b) The University also has the authority to publish the whole, or part, or parts, of a dissertation of thesis if the candidate does not make any attempt to do so within a period of six months after such document is handed in for examination.

(c) In the event of the publication of the whole, or part, or parts, of a dissertation of thesis by a candidate, mention must be made that such dissertation or thesis was the product of a degree obtained at this University. The name of the supervisor as well as the Department in which the study was completed must also be mentioned.

(d) Unless otherwise decided by Senate, a student who wishes his dissertation or part(s) of his dissertation to be treated as confidential/secret, must submit a fully substantiated application, supported by the institution concerned, when the title or topic of his projected dissertation is initially submitted for approval. If it is approved that the dissertation be kept confidential/secret, the procedure to be followed will be determined by the Senate.

G.19 Doctoral Degrees

Rule G17, with the following amendments and additions, applies mutatis mutandis.

Admission

Subject to special provisions in the School rules, a student shall, to be admitted, have obtained the Master's degree or such other qualification as in the opinion of Senate is of equivalent status, in the School he wishes to study, except if Senate approves that it may be in another School, in which case he has satisfied Senate as to his proficiency in the field of study selected.
Before a student's application for registration can be considered, the title or topic of his proposed thesis, together with a brief outline of the research design, must be submitted to the Registrar (Academic) for recommendation by the School concerned and approval by Senate.

Duration of Study

Unless otherwise decided by Senate and subject to special provision in the School

the degree may be conferred on a candidate only after he has been registered for a period of at least two years for the degree concerned at this University; and
the maximum period of study is five years, subject to Senate approval. Extension shall be granted only in exceptional cases and for only one year. A student who desire an extension must submit a motivated application for consideration by Senate.

Re-registration and Deferment of Studies

For the duration of his studies a student shall register each year by the stipulated date. Registration is subject to the recommendation each year of the Head of Department and may be refused in any year on grounds of unsatisfactory progress. When a student applies for registration annually he must give, on the prescribed form, a short exposition of his progress to date and study plans for the year concerned.
A student who wishes to defer his studies at any stage must submit a motivated application beforehand. Such deferment will, if granted, be for a period of one year only, after which a further application must be submitted. Deferment will, at most, be granted twice.

Curriculum and Repetition of Examination

Subject to provision in the rules of the relevant School, a thesis must be submitted. The examiners of a thesis may, if they deem it necessary, call upon the candidate to clarify any specific aspects of his topic before recommending the result. The Dean or the Chairman of Senate may also request such clarification.
No person may present himself for the examination more than once, except with the special permission of Senate special permission of Senate.

Thesis - Examination Committee

The Senate shall appoint:
- at least three examiners of whom at least two shall be external and one internal provided he/she is not a promoter or co-promoter;
- an examination committee which shall not include the promoter and normally the co-promoter(s);
- a chairperson of the examination committee, in a no-examining capacity, who shall normally be the Head of the Department or another senior member of the Department subject to (b) above.
No thesis which has previously been submitted for a degree at any University shall be accepted, but material taken by the candidate from existing publications may be incorporated in the dissertation. Such material must be clearly indicated. If called upon, the candidate shall submit, together with his thesis, a copy of every dissertation previously submitted by him for another degree, whether it was accepted or not.
The thesis shall now proof of the candidate's proficiency in the field and of his ability to do research independently. The contents should be logical, the language of a high standard and the technical work satisfactory.
A summary of not more than 350 words in the language in which the thesis is written shall form an integral part of the thesis. The summary must be submitted to the promoter for approval.
If the thesis is not written in English, each copy of the thesis must also contain a copy of the summary in English.
A thesis shall be typed in the A4 format, on good quality paper with no show-through, using at least one and a half spacing and leaving a left margin of at least 2 centimetres. The thesis shall be bound between hard covers with a glued spine. The title of the thesis and the name of the candidate shall appear on the cover as well as on the spine of each bound copy. The thesis may not be typed on stencils and must, in the opinion of the University, be suitable for microfilming.
The title page of a thesis shall bear the following inscription:

(Full title of thesis) .........................................................................................

by (full name of the candidate ........................................................................

submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of ............................

in the subject of ......................................................................................... at

the University of Venda ...................................................................................

Promoter ......................................................................................................

Co-Promoter (if applicable) .............................................................................

submitted on ....................................... 20 ....................................
In addition to proof of the candidate's proficiency in the methods and techniques of research, a thesis shall not be approved unless it makes an original contribution to the specific field of study.
When the thesis is submitted for examination, it must be accompanied by the following declaration by the candidate:

"I .......................................................................................................hereby declare that the thesis for the ....................................................degree at the University of Venda, hereby submitted by me, has not previously been submitted for a degree at this or any other university, and that it is my own work in design and execution and that all reference material contained therein has been duly acknowledged.

Signature ....................................................... Date ........................................
The University is authorised to make microfiche copies of a thesis and to distribute such copies as if deems fit.
The University also has the authority to publish the whole, or part, or parts, of a thesis if the candidate does not make any attempt to do so within a period of six months after such document is handed in for examination.
In the event of the publication of the whole or part, or parts, of a thesis by a candidate, mention must be made that such thesis was the product of degree obtained at this university. The name of the Supervisor as well as the Department in which the study was completed, must also be mentioned.