91¿´Æ¬Íø

Overview

PhDs are awarded following the successful examination of a substantial original research contribution conducted over 2-4 years for full-time students or 4-6 years for part-time students. These are highly specialised qualifications, and admission depends both on a strong academic record (a master’s degree in a related field with ideally 70% average or above) and the availability of a supervisor within the school well suited to the field. We receive many enquiries that we unfortunately cannot accommodate but we are happy to consider all enquiries.  

Preparatory Master’s degree

The School has a special programme intended as PhD preparation called the Master of Urban Studies (Urban Research). Applicants who have not completed previous degrees in the School may benefit from completing this programme first because:

1. it provides structured orientation to the literature, methods and writing skills,
2. it assists with matching students to supervisors,
3. the research report of the MUS (Urban Research) degree is intended to be the basis of the PhD proposal.

Note that MUS (Urban Research) is not a requirement for the PhD programme although it may be recommended if the School cannot accept an applicant directly into the PhD programme.

Note too that admission to the PhD programme is not guaranteed for MUS (Urban Research) graduates as this would depend on their performance in the Master’s degree and the continued availability of suitable supervision.

Entry Requirements

Any qualifying person interested in doing a PhD in the School can submit an enquiry to the School. Please submit an enquiry via email to the School Postgraduate Degree Coordinator (Prof. Richard Ballard). (If your attachments are large, the email may not go through so please use a service such as wetransfer for large attachments).

Please do not submit an application via the 91¿´Æ¬Íø Student Enrolment Centre (SEnC) in the first instance unless the school has offered you a place in the PhD programme. The enquiry documentation should include:

1. A 3-5 page text of the intended area of research and topic, research question and methods. The document should stipulate whether your PHD is primarily in Architecture or Planning. The text should include references to relevant literature and be written by the applicant, not by an AI service.
2. Indications of possible supervisors in the school and whether the applicant has had any discussions with possible supervisors. Please review the staff list to consider who might be able to provide appropriate supervision and feel free to approach any directly before submitting your enquiry.
3. A CV
4. A copy of degree certificates and academic transcripts for previous degrees indicating marks
5. An electronic copy of one previous publication or research report (if available)
6. Names and e-mail addresses of academic referees

Further assessments may follow, including an interview and a writing exercise.

Only if the School can offer a place to the applicant should they upload a full proposal to SEnC as detailed below.

Course Application Process

• Once you have received approval from the School, you may apply and submit your documentation. Please apply online. You may upload your supporting documents at the time of application, or via the.
• Applications are handled centrally by the Student Enrolment Centre (SEnC). Once your application is complete in terms of the requested documentation, your application will be referred back to the School for final assessment.
• Contact the postgraduate administrator of the School of Architecture and Planning to alert them that you have submitted your application.

Please note that the Entry Requirements are a guide. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee a place. Final selection is made subject to the availability of places, academic results and other entry requirements where applicable.

International students, please check this section.

For more information, contact the Student Call Centre +27 (0)11 717 1888, or log a query at www.wits.ac.za/askwits, or contact the School's postgraduate administrator.

University Fees and Funding

Click here to see the current average tuition fees. The Fees site also provides information about the payment of fees and closing dates for fees payments. Once you have applied you will be able to access the fees estimator on the student self-service portal.

For information about postgraduate funding opportunities, including the postgraduate merit award, click here. The University's Postgraduate Funding portal is a database of scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities available to 91¿´Æ¬Íø postgraduate students. Please also check your School website for bursary opportunities.  The National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a wide range of opportunities in terms of bursaries and fellowships to students pursuing postgraduate studies.