VerifiedActuarial science is funded almost entirely by the industry that employs actuaries: insurers, banks, asset managers and the consultancies that serve them. Very little of it comes from government or from general-purpose trusts, and almost all of it expects you to work for the funder afterwards.
The degree is also only part of the qualification. Knowing how the rest works changes which bursaries are worth applying for.
Qualifying as an actuary
The Actuarial Society of South Africa sets the qualification. A degree does not make you an actuary. After graduating you join an actuarial employer as a trainee, register as an actuarial student member, and then pass ASSA’s examinations, or are granted exemption from them, while building a satisfactory level of work-based skills.
ASSA puts that final stage at three to eight years after graduation. Employers normally pay the exam fees and give study leave, which is a large part of why an employer-linked bursary is worth more here than in most fields.
Seven universities are ASSA-accredited for exemptions: the University of Cape Town, the University of Pretoria, the University of Johannesburg, Stellenbosch University, the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of the Free State and North-West University. Confirmed 23 September 2026 on the Actuarial Society’s own page. A degree elsewhere does not carry exemptions.
Bursaries for actuarial science only
A handful of schemes fund actuarial students and nothing else. They are small, and several are dormant, so check the status on each page before you plan around one.
- The Old Mutual actuarial bursary is the best known. The 2027 round has closed.
- The Liberty actuarial bursary supports students already making progress in an actuarial science degree, rather than first years. The 2027 round closed on 30 August 2026.
- The Milliman Opportunity Scholarship comes from the actuarial and consulting firm. No round has been published since 2024.
- The MiWay bursary funded an actuarial honours year. It was last advertised for 2024 and the company now runs an annual hackathon instead.
- The Alexander Forbes bursary ran in partnership with INSETA and awarded 15 bursaries in its last cycle, for 2021. It is dormant.
- The Aon bursary comes from the insurance broker and has used an 18 January closing date.
INSETA
The Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority is the SETA for the insurance industry, and actuarial science sits squarely in its priority fields. It funds full-time study in qualifications that feed the sector, which is a wider net than the corporate schemes: it also covers insurance, risk management, law and data qualifications.
INSETA is worth watching if you do not win a corporate bursary, because it is not tied to one employer.
Bank, insurer and asset manager bursaries
These fund actuarial science as one of several quantitative fields, usually alongside computer science, data science, statistics and accounting. Competition is against every one of those fields.
| Funder | Notes | Last confirmed closing |
|---|---|---|
| Capitec | Funds the quantitative and technology disciplines a retail bank runs on. Late applications are not considered | 12 August 2026 |
| Investec | Degrees related to the financial sector, historically including actuarial science | 30 September 2026 |
| Old Mutual Imfundo Trust | Administered by StudyTrust. Ask whether a service commitment applies | 30 September 2026 |
| Standard Bank | Actuarial science, commerce, engineering, data science and finance | 30 September 2026 |
| Absa BMI | The bank’s business management and insights stream | 30 September 2026 |
| Nedbank | Groups actuarial science with statistics, applied mathematics and the mathematical sciences | 31 August 2026 |
| Momentum Group | The insurer’s general undergraduate bursary | 31 August 2026 |
| PSG | Open now | 20 December 2026 |
| Oasis | The Cape Town asset manager | 20 December 2026 |
| Sasria | The state-owned special risks insurer. Opens in January | 13 March 2026 |
| ABSIP and STANLIB | The Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals. Advertises in December | Mid-January |
| JSE Empowerment Fund | From the Johannesburg Stock Exchange | 31 October 2025 |
Public sector bursaries
The state also employs actuaries, mainly in financial regulation and in the funds it runs.
- The South African Reserve Bank funds students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the fields the central bank needs. Its external bursary for first-year students in 2027 closes on 30 September 2026.
- The Financial Sector Conduct Authority is the market conduct regulator. Its last round closed on 31 August 2026.
- The Compensation Fund names actuarial science alongside accounting, economics and financial sciences. It closes on 31 March.
- The Public Investment Corporation manages government employee pension money and funds the quantitative disciplines behind it.
- The South African Revenue Service and the Industrial Development Corporation both name actuarial science. IDC postgraduate funding is limited to accounting, actuarial science, mathematics and a short list of others.
Work-back conditions
Nearly every actuarial bursary on this page is an employer recruiting. That is not a reason to avoid them, but ask three questions before you sign:
- How many years must you work back, and does it run from graduation or from qualification as an actuary?
- Does the employer pay your ASSA exam fees and give study leave, and is that in writing?
- What happens if you change your mind? Most agreements convert the bursary to a debt, sometimes with interest.
Where a scheme is administered by a third party such as StudyTrust, ask the administrator directly whether a service commitment applies, because the advert often does not say.
When to apply
| Period | Action |
|---|---|
| August | Capitec, Nedbank, Momentum and Liberty close. |
| 30 September | Investec, Standard Bank, Absa BMI, Old Mutual Imfundo Trust and the Reserve Bank close. |
| October – December | Apply to NSFAS. The JSE Empowerment Fund closed at the end of October in its last round. PSG and Oasis close 20 December. ABSIP advertises in December. |
| January – March | ABSIP, Aon and Sasria close. Sasria opens in January. |
See also our commerce bursaries page, accounting bursaries, and data science bursaries for the funders that appear on the same calls.