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The Beit Trust was established in 1906 under the will of Alfred Beit, a German-born financier who made his fortune in the Kimberley diamond fields and on the Witwatersrand goldfields. Alfred Beit’s will first created a fund for railways and regional infrastructure, and the Beit Trust later turned to education, health and welfare in Southern and Central Africa.
- Registered name
- Beit Trust
- Type
- UK-registered charitable trust
- Fields funded
- Postgraduate study in the United Kingdom or South Africa, for Zambian, Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals
- Website
- beittrust.org.uk
- Phone
- +44 1483 772575
Scholarships not open to South Africans
South African students often find the Beit Trust scholarship in bursary lists and assume it is open to them. It is not. The Beit Trust provides postgraduate scholarships for relevant courses at universities in the United Kingdom or South Africa, but candidates must be nationals of, and domiciled in, Zambia, Zimbabwe or Malawi.
A Zimbabwean graduate living in Zimbabwe could therefore use a Beit scholarship to study at a South African university, while a South African graduate cannot apply at all.
The application window
Beit Trust scholarship applications open on 1 December 2026 and close on 12 February 2027, with interviews usually held in April. The long summer window gives eligible graduates time to secure university offers before applying.
Grants beyond scholarships
The Beit Trust still funds physical projects in its countries of focus. The trust occasionally gives grants for very large new buildings such as hospitals and schools, but most grants enhance existing institutions and programmes, including independent, rural and mission schools. The Beit Trust’s website shows the Umvumvumvu Bridge in Zimbabwe, restored after Cyclone Idai damaged it in March 2019.
Beit scholars today
The Beit Trust follows its scholars’ careers. The trust’s news pages report on Beit Scholar Dr Lubinda, who advocates for making emergency care a national priority, and on Dr Tarusikirwa, who delivered a keynote lecture at a veterinary teaching and research conference in September 2025. The University of Glasgow welcomed the 2025-26 group of Beit Scholars.
Researching the Beit Trust
Eligible applicants should read the trust’s scholarship criteria carefully, including the list of relevant courses and any age or work experience rules, and contact the trust by email with questions. South African readers who found this page while searching for funding should look at South African postgraduate funders instead.
See our Postgraduate Bursaries page for funders open to South Africans.
🎓 Download Our Bursary Application Checklist
Download our free Application Checklist to make sure you do not miss any required documents. Submitting a complete application is key to being shortlisted.
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