DUT Undergraduate Scholarship for First-Years

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

The Durban University of Technology (DUT) rewards strong Matric results with a tuition fee remission in the first year. Under DUT’s scholarship policy, a new full-time South African student whose National Senior Certificate (NSC) aggregate is 80% or higher qualifies for a 100% remission of tuition fees for the first year of registration. An aggregate of 70% to 79% qualifies for a 50% remission. The award is a reduction on the DUT fee account, not a cash payment, and it covers tuition only.

The fee booklet calls it the Undergraduate Scholarship Awards for Students (USAS), and the Finance Department administers it. The rules below come from the DUT Financial Aid and Scholarships page, the 2026 Student Fees Booklet and the “Financial Aid Services and Scholarships” section of the DUT General Handbook for 2026.

Two remission bands based on the NSC aggregate

DUT calculates the aggregate itself, not from the school’s own average. The General Handbook says DUT adds up the percentages for individual subjects, leaves out Life Orientation, and divides by the number of subjects taken. Where a student has taken more than seven subjects, DUT uses the six highest, again without Life Orientation.

Matric results that do not count

Good marks alone are not enough. DUT’s documents exclude several groups:

• Students who did not obtain the NSC in one sitting.
• Matriculants who took a gap year after their final school year. The fee booklet extends this to anyone who took a gap year or an academic period or semester off after school.
• Subjects for which the NSC granted an exemption, and students who needed exemptions to be admitted to their DUT programme.
• Anyone not on their first undergraduate qualification. The fee booklet also excludes Higher Certificates and programmes that are not NQF-rated.
• Students who are not registered full time for the full academic year, and non-South Africans.

When you already have NSFAS or another bursary

The General Handbook sets out what happens when a qualifying student is also funded elsewhere. Students must declare any outside bursary or loan when applying for a DUT scholarship; failing to do so can cost them future awards. If the other bursary already pays the full tuition amount the student would have received from DUT, there is no remission. Instead DUT gives a textbook voucher: R800 for an aggregate of 80% or higher, and R500 for 70% to 79%.

If the other bursary covers less, DUT grants a remission for the difference, up to what the student would have qualified for under the scholarship. For a student in the 100% band, if that difference is smaller than the book voucher, the student receives the R800 voucher instead.

Withdrawing and what the remission leaves out

The remission comes with a repayment rule. If a recipient deregisters or withdraws during the year for which the scholarship was granted, the full scholarship becomes payable to DUT. The remission also excludes additional costs; DUT names breakages and experiential training as examples. DUT staff and their dependants cannot receive the staff fee discount and USAS at the same time.

Keeping a remission after first year

The first-year award covers the first year of registration only. After that, DUT’s returning-student scheme takes over: a student who passes the full curriculum with distinctions in all subjects on the first attempt qualifies for a full tuition remission for the next level of study. An overall pass with distinction, an average of 75% or more, earns a 50% remission. The handbook says the onus is on the student to establish at registration whether they qualify.

The same policy also lists a Dux Award, a first-year tuition remission for a school’s Dux or top matriculant who applies with a signed and stamped letter from the principal. There is also a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for a limited number of new students with good NSC passes achieved despite difficult personal circumstances.

Getting admitted comes first

DUT does not publish a separate application form or deadline for the first-year scholarship. The award applies to a registered first-year student, so the deadline that matters is admission. DUT’s How to Apply 2027 guide says first-time applicants apply through the Central Applications Office (CAO) by 30 September 2026, with some programmes closing earlier, and pay an R250 application fee (R300 for international applicants). If you miss that date, our DUT late applications guide explains the options. For questions about the remission, contact the Financial Aid Unit in Durban on 031 373 2553 or finaiddbn@dut.ac.za, or in Pietermaritzburg on 033 845 8889 or finaidpmb@dut.ac.za.

More on the university is on our Durban University of Technology profile. For students who need living costs as well as tuition, the NSFAS guide covers the state bursary.

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