University of South Africa

UNISA calls itself Africa’s mega university, and the label fits: the University of South Africa teaches through open distance learning rather than a single residential campus, and students across South Africa and beyond study with UNISA while working. That model shapes how UNISA funds people.

Registered name

University of South Africa

Type

Public university (open distance learning)

Fields funded

Postgraduate study, plus SETA-funded programmes such as accounting

Website

unisa.ac.za

Why UNISA funding looks different

Many UNISA students are financially independent adults returning to study, not school leavers supported by parents. For that reason UNISA concentrates its own bursary money on postgraduate students, while undergraduates who qualify rely mainly on NSFAS. UNISA-administered postgraduate bursaries carry no obligation to work for the university afterwards.

UNISA also passes on money from outside funders. BANKSETA, the banking sector’s skills authority, has paid for accounting students in UNISA’s College of Accounting Sciences. SETA-funded bursaries can carry the sponsoring SETA’s own conditions, so read the agreement for any bursary that UNISA administers on someone else’s behalf.

The 2027 postgraduate window

UNISA’s Directorate: Student Funding runs two in-house postgraduate bursaries. The first pays tuition for the registered modules of a postgraduate diploma or honours degree. The second pays tuition for the research year of a master’s or doctoral degree and may add a research allowance. The directorate also administers sector bursaries on behalf of SETAs, the Department of Transport and the Hillensberg Trust.

Applicants for the diploma and honours bursary need at least a 60% average, while master’s and doctoral applicants need their faculty’s admission average. UNISA assesses financial need from the household income declared in the application and gives priority to South African citizens.

UNISA has confirmed that applications for 2027 postgraduate bursaries open on 21 September 2026 and close on 30 November 2026. Applicants must use the bursary link on myUnisa; UNISA does not accept postgraduate bursary applications through any other channel.

The last standalone UNISA BANKSETA round that BursariesAfrica could confirm closed on 26 June 2023. No 2027 call for that programme had been published when we checked, so accounting students should not wait for it.

UNISA pages on BursariesAfrica

A short August to October window at UNISA

UNISA’s admission window is later and shorter than most universities’: for 2027, undergraduate qualifications, honours degrees and postgraduate diplomas open on 18 August 2026 and close on 10 October 2026, while master’s and doctoral closing dates vary by college. Because UNISA admits students only up to programme capacity, applying early in that window matters. Teaching and nursing applicants should check the APS guide below, because those UNISA colleges set their own minimums.

UNISA also invests in research and community work. The university’s Catalytic Niche Areas programme has moved from strategy into implementation, and UNISA hosted its second African Music Festival to highlight indigenous music and its work to decolonise music education.

UNISA undergraduates should read our NSFAS guide before looking for other funding, because NSFAS covers qualifying distance-learning students too.