VerifiedThere is very little money in South Africa set aside for marketing students. The advertising industry ran its own bursary and stopped; one agency still runs a small scheme; and beyond that, marketing appears as one field on a commerce list alongside accounting, finance, human resources and information technology.
So the approach that works is not to search for marketing bursaries. It is to apply to the broad commerce schemes, to the Services SETA, and to the foundations that fund any field, and to say marketing in the application.
Bursaries from the advertising industry
- The Abey Mokgwatsane bursary comes from the Association for Communication and Advertising and is the industry’s own scheme. The only widely published round closed in November 2020 and no new call has been announced, so treat it as dormant and watch the association rather than planning around it.
- The Clockwork bursary comes from the marketing and communications agency and is the live one. Its 2026 round closed on 31 January 2026, after the Matric results came out, which means you can apply with your final marks rather than a forecast.
- The Dentsu SA bursary funded art direction, brand communications, copywriting and strategy, and digital marketing. Its last widely published round closed in September 2023.
Services SETA
The Services SETA names marketing directly among the qualifications it funds at NQF level 5 and above, alongside business management, human resources and public administration.
It is levy-funded rather than employer-recruiting, so it does not expect you to work for a particular company afterwards. Its last confirmed round closed on 15 September.
Foundation bursaries
The foundations attached to the gambling and lottery operators fund across a wide field list and take large intakes. They are among the easiest routes for a marketing student to be funded, and they are consistently under-applied for.
| Funder | Notes | Last confirmed closing |
|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Foundation | The Future is Bright bursary, across commerce and computer science | 16 September 2026 |
| Hollywood Bets Foundation | The 2027 postgraduate round of the same programme | 3 September 2026 |
| ITHUBA | The national lottery operator. No 2027 date had been published when we checked | 30 November 2024 |
| Advance Africa | Wide field list | 29 December 2025 |
Corporate bursaries that include marketing
| Funder | Last confirmed closing |
|---|---|
| Capitec | 12 August 2026 |
| Volkswagen Group South Africa | 28 September 2026 |
| Barloworld Education Trust | 31 July 2026 |
| Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa | 13 March 2026 |
| Cipla | 17 February 2026 |
| Toyota Tsusho Africa | 15 January 2026 |
| Samsung South Africa | Varies |
| TotalEnergies | Varies |
| Baker Hughes | Varies |
| BEKA Schréder | Varies |
| Bridgestone | Dormant since a 12 April round |
On calls like these, marketing is one field among ten or more and the places are rarely split evenly. Read the advert for the number of bursaries allocated per field before you spend a weekend on the application.
Distance and private study
Marketing management is one of the most commonly studied distance qualifications. The MANCOSA bursary covers tuition on its distance programmes, including marketing management, business management and supply chain management.
Check the accreditation before committing. NSFAS funds public institutions rather than private ones, so a private qualification usually means paying for it yourself.
Professional registration
The Marketing Association of South Africa is the professional body for the field, is recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority, and is the accredited custodian of the Chartered Marketer, Marketing Practitioner and Associate Marketer designations. It runs a continuing professional development framework behind them.
Registration is not required to work in marketing, unlike engineering or social work. It is worth knowing about because the designations are a route to seniority, and because naming them in a bursary motivation shows you understand the profession rather than just the subject.
Qualifications funded
- BCom Marketing and BCom Marketing Management, the degrees the commerce calls name.
- Diploma in Marketing and Marketing Management, at universities of technology and TVET colleges, funded by NSFAS and the Services SETA.
- Brand communication, copywriting and art direction, funded by the agency schemes rather than the commerce ones.
- Digital marketing, increasingly funded on the technology lists rather than the commerce ones. See our data science bursaries page.
- Public relations and corporate communication, which overlaps this field and the media one.
When to apply
| Period | Action |
|---|---|
| August – September | Capitec closes in August. The Hollywood Foundation and Hollywood Bets Foundation close in early to mid-September. VWSA closes 28 September. Services SETA closed 15 September. |
| October – November | Apply to NSFAS by 31 October. ITHUBA has closed at the end of November. |
| January – March | Clockwork closes 31 January, after the Matric results. Toyota Tsusho, Cipla and Coca-Cola close. |
| July | Barloworld closes at the end of July. |
See also our commerce bursaries page, journalism and media bursaries for the communications side, and human resources bursaries, which are funded the same way.