{"id":127,"date":"2024-09-03T07:02:24","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T07:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/?page_id=127"},"modified":"2026-09-17T13:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:47:10","slug":"1-year-diploma-courses-at-unisa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/1-year-diploma-courses-at-unisa\/","title":{"rendered":"Are There 1-Year Diploma Courses At Unisa?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Unisa does not offer one-year diplomas. Its diplomas carry 240 or 360 credits at NQF Level 6, and students may register for at most 120 credits a year, so a 240-credit diploma takes at least two years and a 360-credit diploma at least three. What you can finish in one year of full-time study at Unisa is a 120-credit qualification, such as a higher certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Unisa qualifications by size<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Qualification<\/th><th>Credits<\/th><th>NQF level<\/th><th>Minimum time at 120 credits a year<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Higher certificate<\/td><td>120<\/td><td>5<\/td><td>One year<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Advanced certificate<\/td><td>120<\/td><td>6<\/td><td>One year<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Diploma<\/td><td>240 or 360<\/td><td>6<\/td><td>Two or three years<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Advanced diploma<\/td><td>120<\/td><td>7<\/td><td>One year (needs a diploma first)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Bachelor&#8217;s degree<\/td><td>360 or 480<\/td><td>7 or 8<\/td><td>Three or four years<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Postgraduate diploma or honours<\/td><td>120 or more<\/td><td>8<\/td><td>One year or longer<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Most Unisa students study part time and take longer than the minimum. Unisa&#8217;s rules also set a maximum: four years for a 120-credit qualification, six for 240 credits and eight for 360 credits.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One-year options if you want to start working sooner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A higher certificate.<\/strong> For example, the Higher Certificate in Accounting Sciences. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/unisa-higher-certificate-courses-and-requirements\/\">Unisa higher certificates and their requirements<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>An advanced diploma<\/strong>, if you already hold a relevant diploma.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A short learning programme.<\/strong> These do not lead to a certificate, diploma or degree, but some take less than a year. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/how-to-register-for-unisa-short-learning-programs\/\">registering for short learning programmes<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Load rules that decide how fast you finish<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A normal maximum of 60 credits a semester or 120 credits a year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Final-year students with an average of at least 55% may apply for 24 extra credits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Most undergraduate modules are 12 credits, so 120 credits is about ten modules a year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Check the exact structure of any diploma on Unisa&#8217;s website, and estimate costs with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unisa.ac.za\/feequote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Unisa&#8217;s fee quotation tool<\/a>. Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/how-many-years-is-a-higher-certificate\/\">how long a higher certificate takes<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/how-many-credits-is-a-diploma-at-unisa\/\">how many credits a diploma has<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1790700000127\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Can I finish a diploma at Unisa in one year?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>No. Unisa diplomas carry 240 or 360 credits, and the normal maximum load is 120 credits a year.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1790700000128\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What can I complete in one year at Unisa?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>A 120-credit qualification such as a higher certificate, if you register for a full load every semester and pass everything.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1790700000129\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">How many modules is 120 credits?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Usually about ten, because most undergraduate modules are 12 credits.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unisa does not offer one-year diplomas. Its diplomas carry 240 or 360 credits at NQF Level 6, and students may [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_ba_keyfacts":"","_ba_provider_contact":"","_ba_provider_name":"","_ba_provider_type":"","_ba_provider_cat":"","_ba_writer":"thabo-mokoena","_ba_reviewer":"naledi-khumalo","iawp_total_views":935,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-127","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1081,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/127\/revisions\/1081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/unisa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}