Early Selection
Applicants apply with a copy of their Grade 11, Grade 12 June, trial or mock results. These documents as assessed, and if applicants meet the entry requirements, based on the programmes and working rules for selections within that College, they are given a conditional offers and, applicants are ranked when selection is undertaken. Applicants are advised to submit certified copies of their documentation. Further, they are expected to maintain their performance in order to be assessed for final offers.
Selection On Admission Point Score (APS)
Once the final matriculation results are released, applicants who have not met the programme entry requirements are declined, even if they were made a conditional offer initially. It should be noted that the College of Health Science have a Selection Committee who determine the ranking and selection of applicants. The School of Law ranks applicants and select accordingly. Scores of applicants are calculated and ranked in descending order for their choice of programme. The minimum point scores for applications to KZN qualifications have been provided in the qualification entrance requirement tabulations. Meeting the minimum score does, however, not guarantee a place as the University receives more applications than it can accommodate.
The University will receive the NSC results from the Central Applications Office. In addition to SMS’s from the CAO, applicants who are offered places at UKZN will receive letters from the University advising them of their offers. Applicants will be required to complete Acceptance of Offer forms, and upload certified copies of the result sheet as well. These documents are uploaded once the applicants accept the offers online
Selection Process for New Entrants to UKZN in 2026
The following overarching selection criteria and processes apply to all new entrants who are embarking on study at a tertiary institution for the first time in 20. Specific programmes may have additional criteria or different quotas and these will be clearly indicated on the relevant College website.
Submission of National Senior Certificate
The following overarching selection criteria and processes apply to all new entrants who are embarking on study for the first time in 2026. Specific programmes may have additional criteria or different quotas and these will be clearly indicated on the relevant College website.
Within quotas, selection will be done on academic merit. The academic ranking for programmes other than Medicine is based on the Academic Performance Score (APS) obtained in the South African National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations as described below. Applicants for MBChB will be ranked based on their average % score. The quintile of the School is important during the selection process.
The APS is calculated by adding the performance levels (1-8) for the six subjects taken for the NSC excluding Life Orientation (LO). If more than seven subjects are taken the APS is calculated by adding the performance level for:
- English (HL or FAL), plus
- Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy, plus
- the best ratings of the other subjects (excluding Life Orientation and Maths paper 3) so that a total of six subjects are included.
Should any subject that is specifically required for entry into the programme not be included in the APS calculation the APS score may be adjusted accordingly.
Note that no bonus points are awarded for additional subjects.
Certain programmes may impose additional criteria (for example, a portfolio of work, audition or interview) in order to determine eligibility for the programme.
For students who have obtained a school leaving certificate other than the NSC, USAF criteria and guidelines for equivalent performance levels will be used where available to estimate the academic rank.
There will be no ‘Dean’s Discretion’ for students entering directly from NSC and selection will be done according to the agreed criteria by the College Admissions processes.