Funding Opportunities

There are several bursaries, scholarships and assistantship opportunities available every year that postgraduate students are encouraged to apply for. An online database of financial assistance and scholarship opportunities for Wits postgraduate students can be found here on the university’s funding portal. Please check the application deadlines to ensure that you apply on time for funding.

The Wits funding portal database includes the university’s Postgraduate Merit Award (PMA), which covers the tuition fees of successful applicants, up to a maximum of R61 000. The deadline for PMA applications is 31 October 2023.

Applications for the National Research Foundation (NRF) funding, mentioned in the funding database linked above, should now be completed and submitted on the NRF Connect System. Consult the NRF Connect Documents on how to register and create an application. NRF scholarship applications for funding each year usually open in April and close in July (subject to change depending on the year).

Applications for funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) are also submitted directly on the NSFAS application portal. See this Wits NSFAS guideline for details on how to apply.