University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)

Written by Mohapi · Last updated 15 August 2026 · How these figures are checked

UKZN does something that sounds contradictory until you see it written down: Life Orientation does not count towards your APS, but you still have to pass it at Level 4 or you are not admissible.

If you took more than seven subjects

Most learners take seven and the calculation is straightforward. If you took more, UKZN does not simply use your best six. It specifies which subjects go in:

• English (Home Language or First Additional Language), always included.
• Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy: always included.
• Your best remaining subjects to bring the total to six, excluding Life Orientation and excluding Mathematics Paper 3.

This matters if you took eight or nine subjects hoping to push your total up. Your English and your maths are locked in whether they helped or not, a weak English result cannot be dropped in favour of a stronger elective.

Applying through the CAO, not to UKZN

UKZN is a Central Applications Office institution. You do not apply to UKZN directly.

This changes the process in ways that catch learners from other provinces off guard:

• One CAO application covers several KwaZulu-Natal institutions at once, so UKZN, DUT, MUT and UNIZULU can all sit on the same form.
• You list programme choices in order of preference, and the order genuinely matters.
• Your application is handled by the CAO, so status queries go there rather than to the university.

See how to apply for the CAO process in full.

Meeting the minimum is explicitly not enough

UKZN states this itself: applicants below the published point scores are normally not selected, but meeting the minimum score does not guarantee a place, because the university receives more applications than it can accommodate.

That is unusually direct, and worth taking at face value. The published minimum is the level below which you will not be considered. It is not the level at which you will be accepted.

Per-qualification minimum point scores are published in UKZN's qualification entrance requirement tables and are not reproduced here. They differ by programme and are revised each cycle.

Where UKZN is

UKZN runs five campuses across KwaZulu-Natal: Howard College, Westville and the Medical School in Durban, Edgewood in Pinetown, and Pietermaritzburg.

Programmes are attached to specific campuses, and Pietermaritzburg is roughly 80km from Durban. Check where your programme is taught before you plan accommodation or a commute, because getting this wrong is expensive and difficult to undo mid-year.

Who UKZN genuinely suits

• Learners in KwaZulu-Natal, or willing to relocate there, who want a large research university.
• Anyone applying to several KZN institutions at once, since the CAO makes that a single application.
• Students with a solid English and mathematics result, given those two are locked into the calculation.
• Applicants for health sciences, given the Medical School.

What people get wrong when applying to UKZN