Doctor of Business Leadership at University of South Africa

Programme overview

The primary purpose of the qualification is to provide DBL graduates with the knowledge, skills and competence to contribute significantly to new knowledge in Business Management and Leadership to provide opportunities for continued personal intellectual growth, gainful economic activity and valuable contributions to society. A second purpose of the qualification is to provide South Africa (and other countries) with graduates in order to ensure that the leadership base of innovative and knowledge-based economic and scholarly activity is widened. (NQF level 10, 360 credits, qualification code 90071.)

Duration: Maximum time to complete: six years (time limit stated for this degree type) | Study mode: distance | Location: Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

A 3-year bachelor's degree with 360 SAQA credits and an MBL or MBA, or equivalent degree from an approved tertiary institution with an average of 65% for the master's degree. Students will be accepted on the following criteria: previous academic performance; suitability and viability of the intended research; adequate supervisory capacity and research expertise in the discipline. Prospective candidates must submit a proposal on the topic he/she intends to research. The Graduate School of Business Leadership (GSBL) may require the prospective candidate to pass one or more departmental examinations or to complete additional MBL or MBA modules if deemed necessary All students with foreign qualifications, including those with qualifications from African countries, must have their qualifications evaluated at SAQA. (www.saqa.org.za)

Tuition is charged per module, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Offers are made for a specific registration period, for example semester 1; applicants must register for the semester for which they were granted admission or re-apply in the next application period.

Applications for master's and doctoral qualifications are open from 1 September to 20 November 2026; selection degrees and some other qualifications have different application periods.

The non-refundable online application fee is R160. International applicants with foreign qualifications may apply without a SAQA evaluation certificate but must submit it by 15 December 2027 if accepted for 2027.

Apply through the official page: https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Apply-for-admission

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