PhD

Please note that the University of the Free State (UFS) has its own minimum admission requirements for postgraduate studies. As a general rule, students are admitted to postgraduate studies and to each higher level of postgraduate study only if they fulfil the university requirements for registration, have completed the preliminary degree with a mark of 60% or more, and are accepted to the course they wish to study by the applicable academic head of department.

However, the Department of English requires a mark of at least 65% in the preliminary degree before admitting a student to the PhD programme in English. Exceptions should be submitted to the Committee for Postgraduate Studies for deliberation. The department also reserves the right to ask prospective student to write an entrance assessment for a more thorough evaluation.

All postgraduate applicants need to provide the following:

• Academic Background
  Applicants should provide the Department of English with their academic transcripts so that these can be reviewed. Foreign transcripts will be evaluated in terms of their equivalency to South Africa’s National Qualifications Framework.
• A Personal Statement
  The statement should include not only the applicant’s academic goals and objectives, but also evidence of progress in the given academic/professional career. This statement should be no longer than 500 words.
• Proposal
  Prospective MA and PhD candidates should also provide us with a 500-word research proposal.

Writing a PhD research proposal (2018)