Psychology Bursaries in South Africa 2026

Studying psychology is a long but rewarding road, often running from an undergraduate degree through an Honours year and then a competitive Master's before you can register and practise. The good news is that there's funding designed to carry you along that journey. Psychology bursaries often cover tuition and registration fees, and the more generous ones may also help with accommodation, textbooks, a laptop or a living allowance. Because the field stretches across mental health, counselling, social development and human resources, support can come from a wide mix of places, so it pays to cast your net wide and apply to several at once.

Who offers them? Government departments such as Health and Social Development often fund students heading into mental-health and community roles, while SETAs (especially those in health, services and education) tend to back qualifications linked to scarce-skills needs. Universities offer their own merit and need-based bursaries as well as postgraduate funding, and you'll also find support from NGOs, trusts and foundations working in mental health, along with corporates that need psychology graduates for HR, wellness and people functions. For the basics, don't overlook NSFAS for public university and TVET study if your household income qualifies.

Eligibility usually rests on a few things: South African citizenship, solid matric or NSC results (psychology programmes are competitive, so strong marks in English and often Life Sciences or Mathematics help), and in many cases proven financial need. Postgraduate funders tend to care a lot about your academic record and your research focus or area of interest. Many corporate bursaries open for the following academic year roughly around August to October, so plan ahead, get your documents ready early, and apply well before the deadline rather than on the day it closes.