UNISA Bursary South Africa 2025

Thinking about studying at UNISA in 2025 but worried about the costs? Good News: For those advancing to postgraduate studies, UNISA offers bursaries for postgraduate diplomas, honours, masters’, and doctoral programs. The bursary program is now open for the 2025 academic year, so make sure to apply as soon as possible to secure financial support for your studies.

This guide will help you walk through the UNISA Bursary, from its qualification criteria and fields covered to its application process. Therefore, keep reading to gain a comprehensive understanding of the UNISA Bursary South Africa 2025.

Overview of UNISA

The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the biggest university in the country when it comes to numbers. UNISA offers both vocational and academic programs – many of them internationally accredited – and has a wide reach across the country. UNISA is made up of 8 respected colleges, each offering a range of quality academic and vocational programs.

UNISA Bursary South Africa 2025

The UNISA Bursary is a financial aid program from the University of South Africa (UNISA) designed to help students at different study levels with their education costs. Before submitting your application, here’s what you need to know about the UNISA Bursary South Africa 2025.

What Does UNISA Bursary Cover?

UNISA is offering bursaries for all fields of study, covering postgraduate qualifications like Diplomas, Honors, Master’s, and Doctoral Degrees.

Two main groups of students can apply for the bursary:

Postgraduate Diploma and Honours Students: This bursary helps eligible South African UNISA alumni with their tuition fees so they can finish their qualification.

This bursary takes care of tuition fees only, but things like accommodation, textbooks, laptops, and other study materials aren’t included. Students can get funding from the bursary for up to two years in a row as long as they reapply and get approved each time.

Masters’ and Doctoral Students: This bursary gives a boost to both local and international students coming back to UNISA by covering research costs and tuition fees. The following are the research funding caps:

• Masters’ (Research): Up to R55,000 over the first three years.
• Masters’ (Coursework): Up to R25,000 over the first 3 years.
• Doctoral (Research): Up to R80,000 over the first 4 years.
• Doctoral (Experimental Research): up to R120,000 over the first 4 years.

Funding is only for the prescribed study period, not for extra years.

Who Qualifies for the UNISA Bursary?

Students, before applying, must satisfy the bursary eligibility requirements. If any student fails to satisfy the requirements, their application will not be considered. The following are the UNISA Bursary eligibility requirements:

Postgraduate Diploma and Honours:

• South African students who are registered for a UNISA NQF Level 8 Postgraduate Diploma or Honours can apply.
• Applicants must be returning bursary recipients who have been funded before and passed their modules with at least a 50% average.
• New bursary applicants must be UNISA alumni who finished their degree by 31 January 2025 and have at least a 60% average in their undergraduate qualification.
• UNISA permanent staff members are not eligible to apply.
• International students (those who are not South African students) cannot apply.
• Students from the Graduate School of Business Leadership, such as those enrolled in the Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management, Project Management, or Supply Chain Management, cannot apply.
• Students enrolled in special study programs or non-degree purpose programs are not eligible to apply.

Master’s and Doctoral Bursary:

• Applicants are eligible to apply if they are returning master’s students who first registered no more than three years ago or doctoral students who registered no more than six years ago.
• Applicants are eligible if they are new and have successfully passed their research proposal by 31 January 2025.
• Applicants must be coursework master’s students who have completed at least two modules in their current qualification.
• Master’s and doctoral students in their first year of study are not eligible to apply.
• UNISA permanent staff members are not eligible to apply.
• Students enrolled in special study or non-degree programmes are not eligible to apply.
• Students who already have a postgraduate qualification at the same time or a higher NQF level than the one they’re currently registered for aren’t eligible to apply.

How Do I Apply for the UNISA Bursary?

Here’s how you can apply for the bursary program:

• To apply for the UNISA 2025 Postgraduate Bursary, students need to submit their applications via the UNISA official website.
• Applications sent by email, in hard copy, or hand-delivered won’t be accepted. In addition, late or incomplete submissions also won’t be considered.

Applicants should make sure they do the following:

• Make sure they’re temporarily registered by 31 January 2024 so their registration can be activated if the bursary is approved.
• Reapply every year if they have gotten the bursary.
• Make sure their supervisor backs their application on the M&D activities platform.

The result of the UNISA 2025 Postgraduate Bursary application will be sent to the student’s mylife email. Students who are not successful should deregister before the cancellation closing date if they can’t find other funding. Master’s and Doctoral students can appeal from 1 May to 7 May if their application is rejected because of status issues..

Key Information Q&A Session

UNISA has arranged Q&A sessions to help clear up any questions about the UNISA 2025 Postgraduate Bursary application, how it’s awarded, and the refund process. The session will be held on Microsoft Teams, and all applicants interested in joining are encouraged to take part.

Q&A Session for Postgraduate Diploma and Honours Bursary

• Date: Wednesday, 9 October 2024
• Time: 10:00 am (CAT)

Q&A Session for Masters and Doctoral Bursary

• Date: Friday, 11 October 2024
• Time: 10:00 am (CAT)

Wrap Up

In conclusion, the UNISA Bursary is a financial aid program to help students pursue higher education. You can apply for the bursary program through an online platform from the comfort of your home. Make sure to apply before the closing date, or your application will not be considered.