{"id":306,"date":"2026-02-15T12:03:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T12:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/?p=306"},"modified":"2026-09-18T02:22:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T02:22:49","slug":"list-of-universities-opening-applications-for-2027-admissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/list-of-universities-opening-applications-for-2027-admissions\/","title":{"rendered":"List of Universities Opening Applications For 2027 Admissions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Preparing for the 2027 academic year<\/strong> requires early planning. Since it is currently February 2026, the application season for most public universities in South Africa is just weeks away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The month of April 2026<\/strong> is the most significant period in the South African education calendar. This is when the “Big Research” universities and major Universities<\/a> of Technology (UoTs) open their online portals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Universities Opening Applications For 2027 Admissions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
University<\/strong><\/td>Estimated Opening Date<\/strong><\/td>Typical Closing Date<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead>
University of Cape Town (UCT)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>July 31, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
University of the Witwatersrand (Wits)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>March 1, 2026<\/td>June 30 \/ Sept 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
University of Pretoria (UP)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>June 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
University of Johannesburg (UJ)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
Stellenbosch University (SU)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>July 31, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>March\/April 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
North-West University (NWU)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>March 1, 2026<\/td>August 31, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
University of the Free State (UFS)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>March\/April 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
Nelson Mandela University (NMU)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>August 3, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
University of the Western Cape (UWC)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
Rhodes University (RU)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
UNISA<\/a><\/strong><\/td>September 1, 2026<\/td>Varies (late in year)<\/td><\/tr>
Cape Peninsula Univ of Tech (CPUT)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>May 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
Durban University of Technology (DUT)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
Central University of Technology (CUT)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April\/May 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
Vaal University of Technology (VUT)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April\/May 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
University of Limpopo (UL)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
University of Venda (UNIVEN)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
University of Zululand (UNIZULU)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
Walter Sisulu University (WSU)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
University of Fort Hare (UFH)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
Mangosuthu Univ of Tech (MUT)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
Sefako Makgatho (SMU)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>July 31, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
Sol Plaatje University (SPU)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr>
University of Mpumalanga (UMP)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>April 1, 2026<\/td>September 30, 2026<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Universities Opening Applications For 2027 Admissions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most public institutions officially open their systems between April 1 and April 15, 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highly competitive courses like Medicine, Nursing, and Engineering<\/strong> have limited seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portals like those at UCT and UP operate on a first-come-first-served basis for qualified applicants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applying in April increases your chances of a provisional offer before the June mid-year exams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CAO Opening (KZN Schools)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

For universities in KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN, DUT, MUT, UNIZULU), the Central Applications Office (CAO) usually goes live in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A single application through the CAO allows students to apply to multiple institutions at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open Days and Prospectus Updates<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Most universities hold their Open Days<\/strong> in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Stellenbosch University<\/strong> has scheduled their Undergraduate Open Day for April 18, 2026<\/strong>.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is also when the final, official 2027 Prospectuses are distributed to schools and uploaded online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Application Requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Students should prepare these documents before the April portals open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Certified ID Copy:<\/strong> A clear scan of the South African ID card or passport.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Grade 11 Final Results:<\/strong> These are the most important marks for 2027 admission.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Proof of Residence:<\/strong> Often required for student housing applications.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Application Fee:<\/strong> Usually ranges between R100 and R300 (though some like UWC are free).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    As a teacher, I always advise students not to wait for their June Grade 12 results to apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Universities make their Provisional Offers<\/strong> based on the Grade 11 final report.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you wait until September, many of the top-tier courses will already be full.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Preparing for the 2027 academic year requires early planning. Since it is currently February 2026, the application season for most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","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":"pieter-van-der-merwe","_ba_reviewer":"naledi-khumalo","iawp_total_views":9852,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-applications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":544,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306\/revisions\/544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bursariesafrica.co.za\/universities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}