Program Admission Requirements

Higher Certificate in Islamic Studies (HCIS)      

• The Applicant must be in possession of a National Senior Certificate (NSC – Grade 12) or equivalent.
• Conditional acceptance will be allowed for current Grade 12 students. They are required to supply their NSC symbols document on registering.
• Full acceptance is dependent on the applicant’s final Grade 12 results.
• English must be one of the subjects completed, either as a 1st or 2nd language, having achieved 50% herein. Students who have achieved between 40- 49% must attend the English Literacy Support programme offered at IPSA.
• Applicants to complete the National Benchmark Test (NBT) and submit their results in Academic Literacy & Quantitative Literacy (AQL). The test can be done via the National Benchmark Test Website https://nbtests.uct.ac.za/.
• The NBT AQL results must be submitted by the second week in January.
• An applicant with a NSC with four passed subjects, with English as a compulsory subject and who is at least 23 years old.
• An applicant who does not hold a NSC, who is 45 years or older and have the ability to read and understand a standard South African English language newspaper, may qualify for mature age admission.

Bachelor of Arts Islamic Studies (BAIS)

• Applicants require a National Senior Certificate (NSC) endorsed bachelors, or
• English must be one of the subjects completed, either as a 1st or 2nd language, having achieved 50% herein. Students who have achieved between 40- 49% must attend the English Literacy Support programme offered at
• Applicants to complete the National Benchmark Test (NBT) and submit their results in Academic Literacy & Quantitative Literacy (AQL). The test can be done via the National Benchmark Test Website https://nbtests.uct.ac.za/.
• The NBT AQL results must be submitted by the second week in January
• An applicant with a NSC with four passed subjects with English as a compulsory subject and who is at least 23 years old at date or
• An applicant who does not hold a NSC, who is 45 years or older and have the ability to read and understand a standard South African English language newspaper, may qualify for mature age exemption.

Further Clarification on Mature Age Admission

• The applicant who is 23, must have reached 23 years of age and over on the day of registration, passed four (04) approved subjects in the South African NSC (National Senior Certificate) examination or any provincial Senior Certificate examination of any province in South Africa prior to 1994 and before the establishment of Umalusi (Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education & Training). The subjects need not be passed at one and the same examination. English must be one of the subjects passed. Such an applicant, if he/she so wishes, will also be eligible for the HCIS certificate
• An applicant who is 45 years and older will be allowed to register for the HCIS or the BA degree programme without any certification requirement. The candidate must, however, be able to read a South African English newspaper accurately and understand its
• In both instances, the candidate must be able to speak and write sound English at a sound
• The candidate must also be able to read the Qur`ān with reasonable speed and accuracy if the candidate wish to enter the BA degree course Ability to write Arabic script will be highly recommended.
• Full ḥifẓ or partial ḥifẓ of the Qur’ān, while not compulsory, will be an added

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

IPSA applies RPL to facilitate access to tertiary education. For more information contact the IPSA Examinations & Records Office on 021 638 11 21.

Extended/ Part- time Programme

• IPSA currently only offers full- time face to face contact classes, and does not offer any part- time classes. A registered student in both the HCIS and BAIS programmes may, however, choose to extend their programmes by deferring a selected number of subjects, thus extending their programme over a longer period of time. This must be done through the ER Office of IPSA
• Students, who have the need to work part time, or are so occupied with duties that will infringe on the time required for studies, must follow the extended programme of studies. The part time BAIS Programme is minimum 5 years, while the HCIS is minimum 2
• Students who display difficulty in managing the workload, and meeting the requirements of the HCIS and BAIS programmes will be placed on the part-time extended

For more information contact the IPSA Examinations & Records (ER) Office.

 Non-South African Applicants

• Must have a valid study permit issued by the Department of Home Affairs of South Africa, or
• Must have permanent residence in South Africa, or
• Must have South African refugee status with permanent residence permit, or
• Must have been granted asylum in South Africa with permanent residency
• Persons with visitor’s or tourist visas cannot be considered for studies at IPSA even if such are extended visitor’s or tourist
• Applicants must provide a certified copy of their original passport with a South African immigration stamp of residence status therein or separate residence permit the latter of which must be certified by a police officer at a South African police
• Requirements for prospective foreign students still residing outside South Africa should be obtained from the nearest South African diplomatic mission.
• Any foreign certificate must be evaluated by the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) for South African equivalence before an application is made to IPSA. The student does this him/ herself from his home country if externally resident at the time of application. The applicant bears the cost hereof.
• The foreign applicant must submit a medical clearance from a registered medical practitioner so duly registered of his/her home country certifying that the applicant is any disease and has the physical ability to study at a tertiary institution. Provide a Police Clearance Certificate obtained from the relevant Police authority in his/her country o residence.
• Must be proficient in English and provide acceptable proof thereof which IPSA may, at its own discretion, accept or
• Foreign students who  have  not   complied   with the certification evaluation process, will NOT be considered for registration at IPSA.

Registration & Re-registration

• Registration is open to new applicants applying to study at IPSA who have successfully completed the application process. The student must produce an official letter of acceptance upon payment of the registration fee. The registration period is from September to February. Walk-in registrations commence from the second week in January. Applicants are encouraged to apply on-line.
  
  
• Re- registration is open to students who are currently studying, or have previously studied at IPSA. The application fee is NOT required if you have previously applied and have a valid IPSA student number. Proof of successful completion of previous study levels must accompany the application for re-registration (such as last report or transcript). The re-registration period is in January. Late registrations close at the end of February. All registrations close on 15 February. A late registration fee is payable in February.

• Re-registering students are strongly advised to attend the Orientation day at IPSA.

 The re-registration process

• Students may Apply on-line on www.ipsa-edu,org or
• Visit the campus on the two registration days
• Ensure that you have all the required documentation
• Re-registering students must supply a certified copy of the results of the previous year of study at IPSA
• Certify all relevant documents
• Complete the registration process by selecting your subjects for the current year subject to rules and regulations.
• Accept the terms and conditions of the IPSA fees policy
• Pay the required registration fee

NB: The application for registration will not be processed without all of the above.

 Registration Dates

• Registration period opens in September to end of January
• Late registrations are in February carry a penalty of R200

 Withdrawal / De-registration from courses

A student wishing to de-register from a module(s) / course(s) must follow the standard de-registration process.

• The student is responsible for informing the office of such a decision to withdraw or de-register by filling out the required form and lodging it with the Head of the ER. If this is not done, the student will be liable for any fees due.
• In the case of unmarried students, the paying parent(s)/guardian must counter-sign the designated notification
• A R300 Administration Fee per subject module will be charged on all de-registrations.
• If notice to de-register from a course is received before the commencement date of the course then 100% adjustment, minus the R300 administration fee of course fee is applicable.
• If deregistration notifications reach the E&R Office before 31st March (for Semester One) and 31 August (for Semester Two), 50% re-imbursement will apply to semester courses and 75% reimbursement for year courses. minus the R300 administration fee of course fee is applicable.
• Failing to submit such notification by due date, as indicated above, will result in students being held liable for full payment of tuition fees for the applicable course/ unit/module/s.

No adjustment of course fees will be applicable if notice to withdraw from a course is received after 31 March of the applicable academic year.

IPSA Admissions Evaluation

• The institution employs an entry evaluation assessment where the student undergoes an interview with the enrolment officer who will also administer an evaluation of the applicant’s literacy levels; both Arabic (Qur’ān Recitation) and English. The applicant should make an appointment for this interview, at the end of the online application process, if applying via the website online application facility, or at reception, or if applying at the college campus.
• The evaluation process aids IPSA to prepare academic support structures for those students who may require such support.