Scholarships in South Africa
When compared to other institutions in Europe and North America, education in South Africa is of the same quality but with very affordable tuition. The costs vary across the universities in the country, public universities being essentially cheaper than their private counterparts.
Many universities offer subsidized fees for international students and some others have tuition paid per the course taken instead of per semester.
One thing of note is that although the fees are affordable, most universities in South Africa do not offer additional funding to foreign students.
All university-based scholarships or tuition waivers are reserved for the citizens of South Africa. Not to fret, foreign students can source for external fundings, waivers, scholarships or grants and they are very much available.
Some global scholarship schemes that foreign students can benefit from include;
- DCI-CSIR Bursary scheme: This funding option is open to students studying at masters and doctoral students levels. at any university in the country. All foreign students studying in any Technology, Science and Engineering fields are eligible to apply. The scheme only covers the applicant’s tuition for the period of their study.
- Wahlgrenska Stiftelsen Foundation Scholarship: Offers partial funding to students from all nationalities in the field of mass communication media and journalism
- Gordon Signy Fellowships: Awards undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students tuition grans for the duration of their programs. All international students are eligible to apply as this scheme typically rewards students in the field of medicine, anatomy, pathology and medical engineering.
- Dudley D’Ewes South African Scholarships: Offered and funded by the Cape 300 foundation, this scholarship provides bursaries to deserving individuals from African countries. Students who are pursuing a master's degree in arts, literature and global impact or environment studies can apply for this funding which partially covers the academic costs for the duration of their program.
- Ritchie-Jennings Memorial Scholarship: This funding scheme offers partial tuition funding to eligible international students from different countries. The scheme which is funded by the ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in SA) honors academically sound individuals studying in the fields of Business, Finance, Criminal justice, and Anti-corruption studies. Valued anywhere between $1,000 to $12,000, undergraduates and post-graduate level understudies are advised to apply.
Please be aware that there are several other scholarship schemes in the country that favor international students. There are also universities that award bursaries to foreign students on acaedöic merit. We encourage our prospective applicants to ask questions and request more detailed information on all the scholarship options that they can benefit from.
