Postgraduate applications through CAO do not follow one neat pattern. Some postgraduate programmes go through the Central Applications Office, and others go straight to the institution. Here you will learn how to work out which route your programme uses, what to check before you touch a form, and which undergraduate assumptions will trip you up. This page is shorter than the undergraduate guides on purpose: the official sources opened at writing time say less about postgraduate CAO, and padding it out would not help you.
If you take one thing from this page, make it this: check the route with the institution before you submit anything. A postgraduate application sent down the wrong route can cost you weeks, and it can even miss a closing date that only applies to the right route.
Why Postgraduate CAO Is Different
The undergraduate CAO system is set up for first-time applicants to UKZN, DUT, MUT and UNIZULU, with a Handbook listing undergraduate programmes, requirements and closing dates. Postgraduate study sits less comfortably in that frame. It covers honours, postgraduate diplomas, masters and doctoral study, as well as professional postgraduate qualifications, and those programmes differ in entry requirements, in how selection works, and often in where you apply — even inside the same institution.
The official CAO Programmes page puts it bluntly: for postgraduate study, ask the institution about any course that does not appear on the CAO website or in the Handbook. Treat that as the rule this page runs on. If your postgraduate programme is listed on the CAO website or in the Handbook, with a programme code, a closing date and requirements, then CAO is worth considering for that programme. If it is not listed there, do not assume CAO will handle it. Ask the institution.
Step 1: Find Your Programme in the Official Sources
Begin with your exact postgraduate programme, searching the programme list on cao.ac.za by filter or by programme name or code. Then look the same programme up in the current Handbook, for the same campus and entry year. Write down the programme code, closing date, entry requirements, entry term and duration, wherever those are shown.
If you find a full programme entry, with a code and a closing date, you have a real basis for a CAO application for that programme. The general CAO steps then apply: go to cao.ac.za, click Apply, enter your ID or passport number, complete your details, click Process My Application, pay the administration fee shown on cao.ac.za, and upload documents through Upload My Documents.
If your programme turns up in neither source, stop there and ask the institution. Do not put in an undergraduate programme code as a stand-in, and do not apply for a postgraduate programme that merely sounds similar and hope the institution moves your application across. Postgraduate selection is tied to the specific programme, and an application for the wrong programme does not turn into an application for the right one by itself.
Step 2: Confirm the Route With the Institution
Even when a programme does show up in the CAO list, check the route with the institution’s postgraduate or faculty office before you lean on CAO alone — above all for masters and doctoral study. Some institutions run postgraduate applications themselves, with their own forms, research proposal requirements, supervisor matching and closing dates. Others use CAO for some postgraduate levels, honours for example, and take direct applications for higher levels.
When you get hold of the institution, put three direct questions to them: do I apply for this programme through CAO or directly to the institution? What is the closing date for this programme, campus and entry term? And which documents do I need beyond the general CAO documents — a research proposal, a curriculum vitae, references, an academic record? Note the answers down, along with the name of the office you spoke to, so you can follow up if you need to.
Documents That Postgraduate Applicants Commonly Need
Expect postgraduate paperwork to go further than the undergraduate set. Alongside identity proof, your highest qualification, and proof of payment where CAO is the route, postgraduate applicants commonly need an academic record or transcript from previous tertiary study, and for research degrees a research proposal or proposed title. Institution application information, summarising the official guidance for returning and postgraduate applicants, also mentions documents such as proof of English proficiency for international applicants, SAQA evaluations for foreign qualifications, and a valid study permit for international applicants where applicable.
Do not read that list as covering everything your programme will ask for. A coursework masters, a research masters, a professional doctorate and a PhD do not all ask for the same documents. Check the programme entry and the institution’s postgraduate guidance for your exact qualification, and send documents through the route that matches your application route. Applied through CAO? Upload through Upload My Documents on cao.ac.za. Applied directly to the institution? Use that institution’s own upload or submission route, not the CAO upload page.
If your CAO status reads Please Supply Academic Record, that is an official Handbook status term. It means an academic record has been asked for, and you must supply it through the official upload route before your application can be considered further. Answer promptly, with a full, clear record — not a partial transcript.
Requirements, Selection and Closing Dates
Postgraduate requirements come from the institution and faculty, not from a single CAO table. Depending on the programme, a previous degree, a minimum average or grade, relevant undergraduate subjects, work experience, a portfolio, an interview or a research proposal can all count. Meeting a minimum undergraduate degree requirement does not guarantee a postgraduate place either, because places, supervisor availability and research fit count too, particularly for research degrees.
Postgraduate closing dates shift from programme to programme, faculty to faculty and entry term to entry term. Never borrow an undergraduate closing date for a postgraduate programme, and never borrow a first-semester closing date for a second-semester programme. Find the closing date for your exact programme, campus and entry term in the programme entry or institution guidance, and apply early enough to leave room for document evaluation, references and proposal review.
On the CAO system, entry term 1 means first-semester entry, starting between January and February, and entry term 3 means second-semester entry, starting between July and August, as the official Programmes page explains. Work out which entry term your postgraduate programme runs on, because not every postgraduate programme starts in both semesters.
Funding, Registration and Supervision Are Separate
A postgraduate CAO application, where CAO is the route, is none of these things: a funding application, a registration, or a supervision agreement. Postgraduate funding comes through separate bursary, scholarship, research funding and institutional routes, not through a CAO application. NSFAS, which funds undergraduate study for eligible students, does not work as the postgraduate funding route in the same way, and CAO does not decide funding at all.
For research degrees, admission also turns on supervision and research fit, decided by the faculty and department, not by CAO. Sending in a CAO form does not secure you a supervisor. If your programme expects you to identify a supervisor or research area first, do that work before you submit, and follow the institution’s guidance on how to approach a possible supervisor.
Checking Progress
If you applied through CAO, follow your progress on Check My Application on cao.ac.za, using your CAO number, ID number or passport number. That checker runs without a password. Keep it separate in your mind from the applicant login for Upload My Documents, which does ask for a password. If you applied directly to the institution, use that institution’s own tracking system instead, because CAO has nothing to show for an application it never received.
