FirstRand International Postgraduate Scholarships

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

FirstRand, the financial services group that owns FNB and RMB, funds twelve scholarships a year for South African citizens to do a Master’s degree or PhD at a university outside South Africa. All twelve run through one application portal at bursaries.firstrand.co.za and one selection process, but they fall into two groups. Five are open awards for any field at any overseas university. The other seven are partnership scholarships tied to one course at one institution: three at the University of Oxford, and one each at IHE Delft in the Netherlands and IE University in Madrid. The last two go to the University of Sussex.

The most recent round opened on Monday 20 October 2025 and closed on Thursday 19 February 2026, for study starting in 2026. FirstRand has not yet published dates for the next round. The round before that ran from 1 November 2024 to 20 February 2025.

The two open awards for any field and any university

FirstRand Laurie Dippenaar Scholarship

FirstRand set up this scholarship in 2006 when Laurie Dippenaar, one of the group’s founders, retired. According to FirstRand’s scholarship presentation, R10 million of his unvested share options went into an endowment, and he added R1 million of his own, so the interest pays for the awards. Two scholarships are awarded each year, worth up to R1.5 million for a Master’s and up to R2 million for a PhD. Laurie Dippenaar takes part in the selection and follows the recipients’ progress afterwards. FirstRand says 2026 was the 20th year of the award.

FirstRand Empowerment Foundation Scholarship

These awards began in 2016 under the FirstRand Foundation. In 2024 they moved to the FirstRand Empowerment Foundation, whose mandate is to reduce poverty and inequality through activities that advance B-BBEE. Three scholarships are awarded a year, with the same values as the Dippenaar award: up to R1.5 million for a Master’s and R2 million for a PhD. The foundation’s page opens them to “previously disadvantaged South African citizens” for study in any discipline at an international university of their choice.

Seven partnership scholarships tied to one course

For these, you must first apply to the named course at the host institution, and FirstRand then selects its candidate from the applicants. Each one pays for a full scholarship. On the three Oxford awards, the FirstRand presentation says the Oxford school pays half and the FirstRand Empowerment Foundation pays the other half. The foundation may also, at its discretion, help with visa, travel and medical costs. At IHE Delft the split is 70% FirstRand and 30% IHE Delft.

At IHE Delft you must be accepted into one of four tracks: water, food and energy; water hazards, risks and climate; water and health; or water resources and ecosystem health. The Oxford deadlines fall well before FirstRand’s own closing date, so an Oxford applicant has to plan the university application months ahead.

Who FirstRand selects and the five-year return rule

All twelve scholarships are for South African citizens only and for full-time study abroad. Part-time study, correspondence study and joint degrees with a South African university do not qualify. FirstRand looks for strong academic results, leadership, strength of character, community involvement and the “potential to be a destiny changer” in the applicant’s field. The presentation accepts that a weak first year at university can happen, but expects good or excellent results by the final or Honours year. On the two open awards, preference goes to candidates under 35.

• Anyone who is studying, or has studied, overseas for a degree is excluded. Short courses abroad do not count against you if your degree came from a South African university.
• Winners must return to South Africa for at least five years after their studies.
• The scholarships do not fund undergraduate, Honours or South African postgraduate study.

Reference letters, acceptance letters and the interview rounds

You apply online, with every attachment and at least two reference letters included before the closing date. If you left university less than six years ago, at least one reference must come from an academic. FirstRand does not contact referees. A referee who wants to send a confidential letter must email it to firstrandpgscholarship@firstrand.co.za, clearly marked with your name. You must already have applied to your overseas university when you submit. FirstRand accepts the acceptance letter by email after the closing date, and in the last round the cut-off was 7 April 2026.

In the 2026 round, at least three evaluators from FirstRand, FNB, RMB and past winners read each application. They drew up a long list of about 45 candidates, interviewed in March and April in Cape Town, Sandton or on Microsoft Teams. Up to ten finalists for the open awards and up to twelve for the partnership awards then attended final interviews in Sandton in May. Winners were to be announced before the end of June 2026. Queries go to Giselle Ras at the scholarship email address above.

FirstRand also funds local study. Its Honours support is covered on our FirstRand Foundation Honours Bursary page, and the foundation’s wider work is on our FirstRand Empowerment Foundation profile. For funding at South African universities, see our postgraduate bursaries list.

FAQs

About FirstRand Foundation

Corporate foundations of a banking group

FirstRand Limited, the JSE-listed group behind First National Bank (FNB), Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and WesBank, describes its purpose as building a future of shared prosperity by enriching the lives of customers, employees and society. FirstRand delivers part…

Read the full FirstRand Foundation profile →

Website

firstrand.co.za