Verified
The University of the Free State (UFS) is a public university based in Bloemfontein, with campuses in Qwaqwa and on its South Campus in Bloemfontein. UFS traces its origins to 1904, when classes began at Grey College in Bloemfontein, and it offers undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in humanities, economic and management sciences, law, health sciences, natural and agricultural sciences, education, and theology and religion.
- Registered name
- University of the Free State (UFS)
- Type
- Public university
- Fields funded
- Doctoral study at UFS, plus other UFS undergraduate and postgraduate awards
- Website
- ufs.ac.za
Three campuses
UFS’s main Bloemfontein Campus is the largest, while the Qwaqwa Campus in the eastern Free State serves students from a largely rural region near the Lesotho border. The South Campus in Bloemfontein focuses on access programmes and distance and continuing education. UFS students are widely known as Kovsies.
Finding talented matriculants early
Beyond standard bursaries, UFS runs its own merit-based competitions to attract strong all-round Grade 12 learners, such as its Matriculant of the Year competition and Star of Stars scholarship competitions, according to a provider record checked in August 2026. Because finalists commit to studying at UFS, the university uses these competitions both as scholarships and as a direct pipeline into its student body.
The doctoral tuition fee bursary
UFS’s Centre for Graduate Support administers a Doctoral Tuition Fee Bursary for registered UFS doctoral students without other funding. The last published call offered R14 630 towards tuition, credited after registration, for the first three years of the doctorate, with a new application and progress report each year. The bursary does not cover the tuition balance, residence fees, levies or old debts.
Recipients must attend five Research Capacity Development workshops and be available for up to 120 hours of service to the university, and first-time applicants need at least 65% for their master’s degree. South African and international students may apply. UFS opens the call on 1 August and closes it on 30 November, so the 2027 call should close on 30 November 2026.
Individual research chairs also advertise larger fellowships; in 2023 the SARChI Chair in Higher Education and Human Development offered a full-time doctoral fellowship worth R180 000 a year.
UFS awards on BursariesAfrica
BursariesAfrica tracks several UFS awards besides the doctoral bursary, including the honours bursary, the postgraduate diploma bursary, the Media24 matriculant bursary, the Star of Stars competition and a plant pathology fellowship run with the South African Society for Plant Pathology.
Staggered UFS deadlines for 2027
UFS opened 2027 applications on 1 April 2026 on one portal for undergraduates and postgraduates. Health and professional programmes such as MBChB, optometry and nursing close between 31 May and 31 July 2026, international undergraduates by 31 August, and other undergraduate programmes on 30 September 2026. The Kovsie admission point score guide below explains how UFS calculates points.
How to research UFS funding
Check the Centre for Graduate Support pages after 1 August, and ask your supervisor about fellowships attached to research chairs in your field.
UFS also funds honours students through the UFS honours bursary and matriculants through the Star of Stars competition.
🎓 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.
📥 Download Checklist (PDF)