It is a general degree that does not prepare students for specialization. After the honors degrees comes a Master's degree program which could take two to three years. The teaching load for academics can be heavy, ranging from eight to sixteen hours per week in some universities. The academic year runs from mid-January through November, ending with a semester break of about two weeks around July. However, in other universities pressure and resources for scholarship and publications appear to be on the increase, although the expectations are often not acted on.
Academics often build their reputation on the quality of their teaching and feedback from students.
Due to SA's great geographical and political isolation there is an eagerness to visit or attend international conferences and attraction of international visitors is on the upswing. There is also eagerness to catch up technologically, and most universities now have electronic mail and internet facilities. During the past, there was overt or covert hostility to degrees from other universities and employability was based on ethnic lines and people staying within their own groups. Historically White universities in SA are well equipped and occupy positions of privilege in terms of reputations and parliamentary funding. Hence, most of the research in psychology come from them.