Bursaries in South Africa 2026

Sasol's flagship bursary programme funds South African students in engineering, IT, and commerce — covering tuition, accommodation, and vacation employment.

The Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Fellowship is South Africa's most prestigious entrepreneurship-focused bursary, open to any field of study. No workback obligation.

The Funza Lushaka Bursary is a government-funded full bursary for education students who commit to teaching in public schools after graduation.

Standard Bank bursaries support commerce, finance, actuarial science, and IT students. Recipients join Standard Bank's vacation programme and are fast-tracked into the graduate pipeline.

Anglo American funds mining engineering, geology, and related engineering students with a full bursary including vacation employment at their operations.

Eskom bursaries fund engineering, IT, and finance students across South Africa — covering the full cost of study plus vacation employment.

The NSFAS bursary provides financial assistance to eligible South African citizens and permanent residents pursuing higher education, covering a range of study costs.

The SAMRC invites South African researchers and innovators to apply for a funding opportunity focused on climate risk and health resilience.

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is a global initiative enabling talented, service-oriented young people to pursue higher education and cultivate leadership potential for a better Africa.

Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships are for candidates from eligible lower and upper middle-income Commonwealth countries, to undertake full-time taught Master’s study at a UK university.

Commonwealth Shared Scholarships are for candidates from least developed and lower middle-income Commonwealth countries, to undertake Master’s study at a UK university.

Commonwealth PhD Scholarships enable doctoral candidates from eligible Commonwealth countries to pursue full-time PhD studies at a UK university.

This programme assists Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs), including Cooperative Financial Institutions (CFIs), in the banking and alternative sector to gain entrepreneurial skills and knowledge over a 3-month period.

Sanlam offers funding and support for students who are enrolled to study or are currently completing their actuarial science degrees.

The MQA Bursary Scheme offers existing beneficiaries an opportunity to renew their funding for the 2026 academic year, supporting careers in the mining and minerals sector across South African HEIs and TVETs.

NIHSS funds postgraduate research in humanities, social sciences, law, and education. One of the few dedicated postgraduate bursaries for humanities students in South Africa.

The CHIETA Industrial Futures Bursary supports unemployed South African youth accepted into accredited public tertiary institutions, covering studies in the chemical sector for those with academic potential and financial need.

The Netcare Clinical Scholarship provides bursaries to South African medical specialists for doctoral or post-doctoral training and research in academic medicine.

The Funza Lushaka Bursary is a national government initiative designed to promote teaching as a profession and increase the supply of qualified educators in South African public schools.

The Commonwealth Startup Fellowship is a six-month programme designed to ignite and elevate promising startup ventures from eligible Commonwealth countries.

The Commonwealth Distance Learning Master’s Scholarships support candidates from eligible Commonwealth countries to undertake part-time Master’s study in the UK via distance learning.

Commonwealth Split-site PhD Scholarships enable PhD candidates from eligible Commonwealth countries to undertake part of their doctoral study at a UK university.

Commonwealth Professional Fellowships are for mid-career professionals from eligible Commonwealth countries to undertake short programmes of professional development in the UK.

TETA offers bursaries to unemployed South African individuals to facilitate skills development and training within the country's vital transport sector.

PwC offers comprehensive bursaries for South African students pursuing a Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification, providing financial support and a structured path to professional development.

SANSA provides postgraduate degree bursaries to contribute to the development of skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

A fully-funded fellowship for South African postgraduate students to study in Ireland, aiming to nurture future leaders and develop in-country capacity.

Old Mutual invites exceptional South African learners pursuing or interested in Chartered Accounting studies to apply for their bursary programme.

The SARB invites aspiring economists to apply for its 2026 External Bursary Scheme, specifically supporting undergraduate studies in Economics.

A fully-funded postgraduate award for talented Southern African students to study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

This academic merit bursary from Vodacom Foundation supports ambitious, driven South African students in their first, second, or third year of study.

SANRAL offers a scholarship programme for young South Africans, supporting studies in fields related to civil infrastructure and roads.

Dr Cecil Renaud's Trust offers scholarships for young South Africans to pursue postgraduate study in the United Kingdom.

A fully-funded scholarship for undergraduate and postgraduate study at the University of Pretoria, supported by the Mastercard Foundation.

A fully-funded scholarship for young African graduates to gain parliamentary experience in Berlin, Germany, with a monthly stipend.

The Sasol Foundation offers a comprehensive, fully funded bursary programme for young South Africans pursuing studies in various fields critical to industry.

Thuthuka Bursary Fund by SAICA supports students from disadvantaged backgrounds aspiring to become Chartered Accountants in South Africa.

The SARB invites aspiring economists to apply for its 2026 External Bursary Scheme, supporting undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Thuthuka bursary is open to financially needy African, Coloured, and Indian students aspiring to become Chartered Accountants (CAs).

PwC offers bursaries for accounting and finance students pursuing a CA(SA) qualification. One of the most prestigious routes into the Big Four accounting firms.

Glencore and Merafe Resources fund mining engineering, geology, and related engineering students with a full bursary and vacation employment at South African mining operations.

The Department of Agriculture funds agriculture, environmental science, and veterinary science students with a full bursary including workback in government agriculture programmes.

The Shoprite Foundation funds commerce, IT, and food science students. NSFAS-compatible and requires no workback obligation.

Multiple engineering companies offer bursaries exclusively for women in engineering. Targeted at addressing gender equity in South Africa's engineering sector.

Old Mutual funds actuarial science, finance, statistics, and IT students. Financial need is not required, making this accessible to middle-income families.

Deloitte SA offers accounting bursaries for students pursuing the CA(SA) qualification — one of the top routes to completing your articles at a Big Four firm.

The NSF funds students in scarce and critical skills fields — including medicine, engineering, social work, and agriculture — at university and TVET level.

FNB funds finance, accounting, actuarial science, and IT students with tuition and a living allowance. Part of the FirstRand Group talent pipeline.

Nedbank funds accounting, finance, actuarial science, and IT students. Full bursary with vacation employment and a structured graduate pipeline.

MERSETA funds engineering and manufacturing students at both university and TVET level. A key funding option for students in technical disciplines who need support alongside NSFAS.

MICT SETA offers bursaries and learnerships for ICT and media students at both university and TVET level. NSFAS-compatible with no workback.

Transnet offers engineering bursaries to South African students studying mechanical, electrical, civil, and industrial engineering — with vacation employment at their logistics operations.

Harmony Gold funds mining engineering, geology, and engineering students in South Africa with a full bursary including vacation employment at their gold mines.

The NRF funds postgraduate research students (Honours through PhD) across science, engineering, humanities, and social science fields. No workback, no financial need requirement.

The Telkom Foundation funds ICT, computer science, and electrical engineering students. Notably, this bursary has no workback obligation and is NSFAS-compatible.

MTN funds engineering, ICT, and data science students with a full bursary including vacation employment at South Africa's largest mobile network.

Discovery offers a high-value bursary for actuarial science, statistics, data science, and finance students. Merit-based with no financial need requirement.

Absa offers a full bursary for commerce, finance, accounting, and IT students. Includes tuition, accommodation, and a living allowance with vacation employment.

test