Rhodes University Bursaries and Scholarships

Students are required to respond to the letter of award agreeing to abide by the bursary rules and regulations.

First year students are not generally awarded bursaries, as they are given the opportunity to reduce the funding required from NSFAS through the Merit Award System.

All students on financial aid have the opportunity of receiving a bursary from NSFAS of up to 40% of their NSFAS loan depending on their pass rate.

National Student Financial Aid Scheme

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a government funded organisation, providing financial aid to students studying for a tertiary qualification. 

To be eligible, students must:-

• Be South African citizens;
• Be studying for a first qualification;
• Be financially needy;
• Demonstrate the potential to succeed academically.

To calculate the value of the loan to which a student is entitled, the NSFAS Means Test is used. Students with a gross annual family income in excess of R180 000 will seldom be eligible for funding.

Limited funds are available so applicants will not necessarily be granted funding from NSFAS. It is important, therefore that applications are submitted as early as possible.

If a student passes all subjects in the year that funding is obtained from NSFAS, 40% of the value of the NSFAS loan is converted into a bursary and is credited to the student’s NSFAS accounting during the course of the following year.