University of Stellenbosch Bursaries available

While the University tries to assist postgraduate students as far as possible in providing funding for their studies, there are also external organisations that provide funding.

In such cases, Stellenbosch University is not involved in administering the funds of said organisations, and the application processes, guidelines and criteria of these external funding mechanisms should be consulted.

Visit our “Take Note” section to find out more about different funding opportunities, not administered by Stellenbosch University. International students only qualify for the merit bursary – for which an applicant’s weighted average should be 75%.

Guide to Postgraduate Student Funding
	The Information Guide for international students provides information on important aspects of studying at Stellenbosch Universty: from language requirements, accommodation and fees to the application process and what to do upon arrival at the University.

Merit

General Information

This is Stellenbosch University’s own fund for postgraduate bursaries. At postgraduate level, merit bursaries are allocated according to set criteria, provided that an application is received by the stipulated closing date below.

Applications from students, who have obtained an average of 75% minimum for the preceding degree qualification, will be considered. The preceding degree qualification should be at a lower NQF level (National Qualifications Framework) than the degree he/she is applying for. The cut-off mark of 75% may be higher, depending on the number of applications and the amount available for bursaries.

Eligibility

The bursaries are available in all fields of study to full-time students who are registered at SU in any postgraduate degree programme, provided that the candidate is not already in possession of a degree on the same level or higher. Full-time students are students who do not work for remuneration for more than 15 hours a week over a period of ten months during the academic year.

Students who meet the requirements for application at the Statutory Council, are strongly advised to apply, as the values of these bursaries are more substantial than SU Postgraduate Merit Bursaries.

Very few bursaries are available to international students and preference is given to students from the South African Development Community (SADC) countries who obtained a degree from a South African university.

APPLY AT my.sun.ac.za CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS – first Friday in December of preceding year

Private

Fields of Study	Bursary	Apply	Closing Date	Value
Afrikaans	De Jager, CJ	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
	De Villiers, Anna	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
	Hertzog, JBM General	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
	Smith, JJ	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
Anthropology	Uys, Dirkie	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
Arts	De Klerk, DP	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds. Granted alternatively for Arts and Urology for research or a study trip abroad.
All fields of study except Theology and Political Science	HARRY CROSSLEY	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	18 September	30-40 awards. Master’s @ R80,000.00, PhD @ R100,000.00
All fields of study	Thom, HB & MJ Criteria of award include: good moral values, positive post-matric leadership in the following fields: sport, cultural, academics, religion etc. Although not a requirement for the award, the University will give preference to applications who, in addition to the stipulated conditions, obtained a good academic record in their previous degree/studies. Two testimonials verifying the criteria must accompany theapplication form		12 September	6-8 awards. Hons @ R40,000.00, Master’s @ R50,000.00 and PhD @ R70,000.00
Botany	De Villiers, OT	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
Botany	Boonstra (Awarded in consultation with donors to SA citizens for Hons BSc, MSc, PhD and DSc. The bursary is renewable.)	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds.
Chemistry	SASOL / SU	To apply, visit the Funding Office at the PGIO, RW Wilcocks building, 3rd floor	15 March	Amount varies due to availability of funds
Drama	Engelen, Fred	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
Education	La Grange, AJ	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
Education	Pauw, PAA	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
Engineering	SASOL / SU For Chemical Engineering	To apply, visit the Funding Office at the PGIO, RW Wilcocks building, 3rd floor	15 March	Amount varies due to availability of funds
	La Grange, Phillip For Electronic Engineering	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
	Louw, Tienie For Aeronautical Engineering (For study in SA or abroad. Preference given to a gifted student recommended by supervisor).	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
English	Victoria League (Available for an Honours student who would like to specialize in the teaching of the English language.)	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	1 bursary. Amount varies due to availability of funds
Economics	Uys, Dirkie	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
History	Blommaert	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
	Dekker, HP	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
	Conradie, GD	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
Mathematics	Cillié	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
Psychology	La Grange, AJ	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
Political Science	Uys, Dirkie	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds
Viticulture and Oenology	Theron, CJ	To apply, visit the web address at the end of the Private Bursary table	first Friday in December of preceding year	Amount varies due to availability of funds

• The website to visit in order to apply for bursaries (requires login): my.sun.ac.za

Support

General information

Allocation of funds is subject to availability. The Postgraduate Support Bursary amount is not sufficient to cover all study costs and students should also apply for other bursaries and loans, and/or have supplementary funds available. Bursaries are paid, after receipt of the signed Declaration and completed financial planning, in March. Please note that needy students are classified as those who have a genuinely low family income. Students who experience financial problems because of lifestyle choices (housing, transport, education of offspring) do not qualify as such.

Eligibility
The Postgraduate Support Bursary is a resource for extremely financially needy students registered with the University for postgraduate programmes a postgraduate diploma, an honours, Master’s or doctoral degree. This scheme is available to fulltime and part-time postgraduate students. Part-time students qualify for a smaller amount. It is awarded on extreme financial need and a recommendation by the study leader or promoter.

Financial need is determined by a means test that takes the following into consideration:

Family income
Other bursaries received
Family size
Home Consumers’ Index

There is no predetermined cut-off point for family income, but it can generally be accepted that a student will not be assisted from the fund if family income is such that a commercial bank will accept the breadwinner(s) as surety for a study loan.

APPLY AT my.sun.ac.za CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS 30 SEPTEMBER

Travel Grants

Grant Type

Name and Details

Criteria

Application

Conference Attendance

Overseas Conference Grant

The Postgraduate Office Overseas Conference Grant (OCG) is a supplementary award to attend an international conference outside of South Africa to present a paper or poster.

Three cycles and deadlines:

• Closing date 30 Sept of preceding year for Jan – Apr following year.

• Closing date 30 March for May – Aug.

• Closing date 30 June for Sept – Dec.

Preference given to full-time registered PhD students in their 3rd year. A full-time student is classified as one who works for remuneration for less than 15 hours per week (if at all) over a period of 10 months of a given calendar year.

The support should supplement grants provided by other sources (e.g. Dean’s fund), as this award should not exceed 50% of the total budget to a maximum of R10, 000.

The applicant should submit proof of the acceptance of the presentation by the conference organizers.

An applicant will only be eligible for a grant once during his/her postgraduate studies.

Preference will be given to:

Applicants with no funding from other grant schemes (e.g. Focus Areas, Thuthuka, capacity development, industrial contracts
Applicants invited to deliver oral presentations
Applicants who have not attended other international conferences abroad during the past two years.

If more than one applicant from the same Department applies for this support to attend the same conference, only one award will be given to the Department, and funding could be awarded at the discretion of the Dean and relevant Chair, either to one of the applicants, or divided among applicants.

To apply:

A scanned version of the application form with signatures and the required CV must be submitted electronically to Chantal Swartz (cswartz@sun.ac.za).

Only applications for the relevant award cycle will be considered (see dates of the award cycles and corresponding closing dates on the application form).

The applicant must ensure that the application form is complete, with all the required documents attached. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Please note that the awards are made on a competitive basis and that limited funding is available.