Sol Plaatje University Postgraduate Merit Bursary Award

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

Sol Plaatje University (SPU) in Kimberley offers one bursary of its own to postgraduate students: the Postgraduate Merit Bursary Award. It pays tuition for one year for full-time Postgraduate Diploma, Honours and Master’s students who earned an average of at least 65% in their previous qualification, and in return the student works 6 or 8 hours a week for the faculty. Unemployed students only may hold it. SPU’s Financial Aid office otherwise acts as an administrator for outside funders; the university states that it does not offer loans.

The 65% average test at each level

The award notice for 2026 sets out two sets of academic conditions, depending on the qualification the student is registered for.

Every applicant must study full-time and be unemployed. SPU says in plain terms that employed applicants do not qualify, and Honours and Postgraduate Diploma applicants are asked for proof of unemployment. Doctoral students are not mentioned in the notice. The application form asks whether the highest qualification was earned at SPU or at another university, so graduates of other institutions who are admitted to an SPU postgraduate programme appear to be able to apply as well.

Tuition only, one year at a time

The award is credited to the tuition fees on the student’s SPU account and covers nothing else: no residence, meals, books or living allowance. SPU publishes no fixed rand value. Instead, the form asks the applicant to state the total amount requested for the year and to attach a copy of the tuition account. Four further conditions apply:

• An award lasts one academic year and does not carry over.
• The money cannot be used to settle outstanding fees from an earlier year. The form asks directly whether the applicant owes fees for the previous year.
• A Master’s student who held the award in Honours must apply again; each year needs a new application.
• Recipients carry out tasks and activities set by their faculty or the university for the weekly hours shown in the table.

Submitting the form to Postgraduate Affairs

The 2026 round used a two-page PDF application form. It asks for personal details, faculty, department and student number, the highest qualification passed and year of graduation, and the amount requested. Three documents go with it:

1. a certified copy of the identity document;
2. an official academic transcript;
3. a copy of the tuition account statement.

Completed forms and questions go by email to pga@spu.ac.za. The form shows the decision path: the school’s postgraduate chairperson recommends or does not recommend the application, and the Senior Manager of Postgraduate Affairs approves it. The 2026 closing date was 28 February 2026, early in the academic year, which means applicants are usually already admitted and registered when they apply.

Other funding routes SPU points to

For general funding questions, SPU’s Financial Aid page lists its staff, including Ms Chrizelle Mally on 053 491 0102 (chrizelle.mally@spu.ac.za). The same page names SETAs, the NYDA and the Northern Cape Premier’s Education Trust Fund among the funders of SPU students. The university’s programmes, from the Honours in Data Science to the Master of Arts in Heritage Studies, are listed on its postgraduate studies page. Our Sol Plaatje University profile gathers the funding linked to SPU, and our postgraduate bursaries list covers funders open to students at any university. The Canon Collins Sol Plaatje Scholarship is a separate scheme run by the Canon Collins Trust and is not connected to this award.

FAQs