APPLICATION PROCESS DURING 2024 FOR STUDIES IN 2025: BDatSci - already closed
(for students who are not registered for a degree in 2024 and who are in grade 12 in 2024)
Online application for undergraduate studies at Stellenbosch University opened on 21 April 2024 and closed on 31 July 2024.
The application window is now closed for studies in 2025.
If you miss these important dates, nothing more can be done - emails with respect to this will not be answered. Requests by email, if you do not meet the minimum requirements for admission, will not be answered. The minimum requirements are strictly applied with admissions.
The process is as follows:
All prospective BDatSci students should apply via the University's portal for undergraduate study in 2025. You only need to apply for BDatSci under the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS). This means you will have the opportunity to choose the focal area when you are finally admitted after your grade 12 results are known. You only need to choose the focal area, the week before lectures start in 2025.
In 2025, after your grade 12 results are known, you will have an opportunity to select the focal area of your choice after attending the compulsory information session about focal areas.
You may apply for a specific focal area from 3 of the total of 8 focal areas, namely that of Computer Science, Applied Mathematics or Statistical Physics, under Faculty of Science portal and select one of these 3 focal areas. However, we have seen students are not really certain and we strongly recommend to apply rather just for BDatSci "General" under Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS).
So, if you are uncertain about focal areas and to play it safe keeping all options open, go to the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences portal for applications and select BDatSci as degree programme. This will be the bottom option under all BCom degrees of the drop-down box. This means that if you wish to register for the focal area Geoinformatics under Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences or focal area Statistical Genetics in the Faculty of AgriSciences or even for the 3 focal areas under Faculty of Science, you apply just for BDatSci in the Faculty of EMS. After grade 12 results are known in 2025, you can still change to any focal area of your choice.
Your second and third choices can be any of the other degrees in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences or any other faculty like Science or Engineering. Rather select other BCom or BSc or BEng degree programmes if you do not meet the minimum grade 11 requirements. You can always change back to BDatSci in 2025 after grade 12 results are known and you have met the minimum requirements. In fact, if you meet the minimum requirements for BDatSci after grade 12, you can change your actual study degree to BDatSci regardless if you have already been accepted for another degree.
After the application process has closed, students who meet the minimum admission requirements (based on their grade 11 marks), will receive a letter to indicate that they have been provisionally accepted for the BDatSci degree, provided their grade 12 results meet the minimum admission requirements. You need to accept the offer before a certain due date, if not, your offer will be withdrawn.
Acceptance letters should be received by end of August, if not, please enquire only after 31 August 2024 from the Registrar of SU.
DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE FOCAL AREA?
Please note that you have an opportunity to change focal area after year 1 or 2, without adding extra years of study or registering for any new/other modules, provided you have passed all second-year modules of current focal area so far. There are only a couple of focal areas that you cannot switch to - see the attached document (
Appendix C-2025.pdf). This document appears as an appendix in all 2025 Faculty yearbooks. How to interpret this document?
The document stipulates the focal areas you can switch to. Table 1 is for change after year 1 and table 2 after year 2. The first column indicates to which focal area you want to change. The middle column indicates what modules are listed in the yearbook that you need for this focal area and the third column stipulates which modules that you have successfully passed so far can replace those modules in the middle column – in other words if you pass modules in the third column they count as equivalent modules (credits) listed in the middle column.
What is the process of changing focal area?
If you want to change to any of the mentioned focal areas in EMS, AgriSciences and Arts and Social Sciences – you need to contack the faculty administrator of EMS at registrarems@sun,.ac.za or Mr Meyrick Balie at baliemf@sun.ac.za during the registration week in 2025. You will not be allowed to do this electronically on SunStudent. You do not need to apply anywhere either.
HOWEVER, If you want to change to any of the three focal areas in the Science faculty, you need to apply first on a form (https://forms.office.com/r/5sEncD0mZR) before any of the following 4 dates: 7 NOV, 28 NOV, 12 DEC and 21 JAN (no changing of focal area will be allowed after 21 JAN) – contact also Ms Aatika Valentyn at aatika@sun.ac.za
APPLICATION PROCESS FOR CURRENT STUDENTS IN 2024: BDatSci
Students who wish to apply for BDatSci in 2025 can do so when registration opens in 2025, provided they meet the grade 12 admission requirements of the programme and there are available spots in the programme. Students should email Prof PJ Mostert at datascience@sun.ac.za if you wish to change in 2025 to BDatSci. Grade 12 results as well as current performance on undergraduate level, after obtaning all your final results at the end of 2024, will be considered. A motivation letter should accompany the email explaining why you would like to change your degree to BDatSci. Note that certain existing modules can be taken in advance on recommendation of the Programme Committee of BDatSci. No student will be allowed to change to BDatSci unless prior approval was obtained from the Programme Committee of BDatSci. The faculty administrators/registrars will not allow such registration without prior approval.
