UCT Postgraduate Merit Awards, Bursaries and Scholarships

By | September 15, 2021


UCT Postgraduate Merit Awards, Bursaries and Scholarships

Bursaries and scholarships

Merit awards

A merit candidate is an applicant who has obtained a grade point average of > than 60% in their final year of study for their last qualification.



Merit awards are funded from a variety of sources, and the primary awards that are available to Honours Masters and Doctoral students are applied for via the NRF and MRC. (See Research scholarships.) Students should also please refer to the NRF Website – www.nrf.ac.za.

University-sourced merit awards can be applied for only by students who have applied to the NRF. For application procedures see UCT merit and need awards.

International and Refugee students are required to please see the International & refugee scholarships page.

Sponsored Links

The PGFO administers several other merit awards that are sourced from various donations and investment funds. Such awards are independently advertised via the electronic noticeboard and VULA pages. Students are encouraged to familiarise themselves with such opportunities alternatively, they may request for a one-on-one session with the PGFO staff by email at: [email protected]


UCT also awards scholarships each December to graduating students who have performed exceptionally well at UCT. Recipients are identified by the university and an application form for this category of award is not required. (See Section 7.) Please see the December scholarships



Scholarships and bursaries funded from a variety of sources are available. These may be awarded to Heads of Departments or supervisors to students working on specific projects or programmes. Candidates should enquire as to the availability of such awards by consulting their Supervisors, Course convenors or Heads of academic departments. Please see the Departmental scholarships pages respectively.

For a detailed list of scholarship in either category please refer to Booklet No.14 (see right column) full details.

 See Also

University of Cape Town UCT Undergraduate Scholarships and Bursaries

University of Cape Town UCT Postgraduate Bursaries and Scholarships

ALL UCT Admissions and Registrations