How to Be Funded At UFS
Funding your studies does not need to be a big stress as UFS has made many options available to their students. From bursaries to loans to donors, students need not worry.
Every institution wants to see their student excel and in order to do this, the stress of finances needs to be wiped away. Institutions therefore make options available to students as well as there being many external options for students to choose and apply to. Let’s make financing your studies a bit easier.
Monitoring Committee Bursary: Available only for undergraduate final-year students and/or student leaders such as members of the Student Representative Council, residence committee members or sub-wardens. For financially needy and academically deserving.
Academic Merit Awards Bursary: For first year students. These are awarded to students who have obtained a specific APS score. More information on this can be found here.
Academic merit awards Bursary for senior undergraduate students: For students who have obtained an average total examination mark of at least 75% at the end of a calendar year. More information on this can be found here.
Bursaries for culture, art, and leadership: Students who had culture, art, and leadership achievements obtained in the matric year. An M score of 32 or an admission point of 30 is a minimum requirement for these bursaries. More information on this can be found here.
Special merit bursaries for sport: Bursaries are awarded annually to sportsmen and sportswomen who contribute towards extending the proud record of Kovsies on the sports fields. Application form can be found here.
Sundry Bursaries: The university has various bursaries available for general or specific fields of study, or in specific departments and faculties. Information on them can be found here.
Kovsie Alumni Trust Bursary Fund: These are awarded to undergrad and honours students who perform well academically. More information can be found here and the application form can be found here.
Outside Bursaries: UFS provides a list of bursaries for students to look through. You can find that list here.
Department of Labour Bursaries: Students with disabilities qualify for (apart from any other bursaries) for bursaries from the Department of Labour and are required to apply directly at the Department for these bursaries.
Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme: Bursaries are available to enable eligible students to complete a teaching qualification in an area of national priority. Read our article on the Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme here.
NSFAS: NSFAS offers fully subsidized free higher education and training for poor and working class South Africans where there is up to R350,000 household income per year. This bursary includes tuition fees, learning materials allowances, transport allowances and living allowances.
Fundi: Fundi offers students loans to fund their studies. Visit their website here for more information.
Feenix: This is a student programme that uses the process of fundraising in order to helped students fund their studies. Read our article on Feenix here.
Banks: Many South African banks offer loans for students looking to fund their studies.
For funding separate from your university and their Financial Aid office, you can visit the Bursaries Portal to see which bursaries are available to you as a student.