SMU Postgraduate Tuition Bursary

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU), a university devoted to the health sciences, pays the first year of tuition for postgraduate students who have no other funding. The Postgraduate Tuition Bursary is run by SMU’s Research and Innovation Directorate. It is a one-off award: it covers the tuition charged in the year a student first registers for the qualification, and nothing after that.

The 2026 round closed on 31 May 2026. SMU posted the 2026 form on its financial aid page in early May 2026, and has not yet published anything for 2027.

Unfunded postgraduates with a 65% average

The bursary is aimed at a narrow group. Any SMU postgraduate student, newly admitted or continuing, may apply if all of the following are true:

• no funding has ever been received for this qualification from any source, including the NRF, an employer, another bursary or a sponsorship;
• the student is not employed and holds no other bursary;
• the preceding qualification was passed with an aggregate average of at least 65%;
• the new qualification is not equivalent to one the student already holds;
• the student has not previously registered for the same qualification at another institution.

Because NRF-funded and employer-funded students are excluded, the SMU bursary suits people who missed out on the DSI-NRF Postgraduate Scholarship or who are not in a job that pays for further study.

Limits on the award

The bursary is capped at the total tuition for the year of first registration and covers tuition only, so residence, meals and other costs stay with the student. It stays in place only while the student remains actively registered and makes satisfactory progress under university rules. Master’s and doctoral students it funds must hand in a progress report at the end of every year of study. SMU says it will withdraw the award if a student fails to disclose a material fact, does not accept retrospective applications, and does not refund a credit balance created by the bursary.

Typed form, hard copy, Room S524

The application form is a fillable PDF, and SMU will not process handwritten forms. The completed form must be printed and delivered as a physical hard copy to the Research and Innovation Directorate, Room S524, 5th floor, Clinical Pathology Building (postal address PO Box 163, Medunsa, 0204). Late or incomplete submissions are not considered. The 2026 form asked for these attachments, and SMU accepted no form without them:

• proof of registration;
• a certified copy of the detailed academic transcript and of the degree certificate or certificates;
• a CV of no more than two pages;
• a certified copy of the identity document.

The form also asks about employment, other bursary applications, parent or guardian details, the highest qualification and the percentage obtained, and the degree, school and research title the bursary is for. The Financial Aid Office verifies the aggregate before a decision is made. The 2026 form sits on SMU’s scholarship and financial aid page, and enquiries go to postgraduatestudents@smu.ac.za.

Other funding for SMU students is listed on the SMU provider profile, and funders in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and allied health are gathered on our health science bursaries hub.

FAQs