UKZN Fee Remission for Research Master’s and PhDs

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) does not charge tuition to full-time students on a Master’s by research or a doctorate for a fixed period, which UKZN calls fee remission. It is not a cash bursary: nothing is paid to the student. Instead, UKZN credits the tuition on the student account for the first two semesters of a research Master’s degree or the first six semesters of a doctoral degree. The Department of Student Funding describes the scheme on its scholarships page, and the conditions are printed in UKZN’s fee booklet and in a separate terms-and-conditions document.

Twelve months for a Master’s, 36 for a PhD

UKZN’s conditions define the fee remission period as 12 months (two semesters) for a Master’s student and 36 months (six semesters) for a doctoral student. The Postgraduate Application Guide 2027 puts it in terms of minimum study time: remission applies if the degree is completed in the minimum prescribed period, which it gives as one year for a Master’s and three years for a PhD.

Students who run past that period start paying a continuation fee. The 2027 guide lists the continuing fees for research students as approximately R18,747 a year or R9,375 a semester, the same figure for both its Group 1 fields (such as law, education, commerce, nursing and the social sciences) and its Group 2 fields (such as engineering, science, agriculture, architecture and health sciences). The guide notes that these amounts cover tuition only.

Charges the remission does not cover

During the remission period no tuition is payable, but UKZN still bills levies and ad hoc charges. Its conditions give lecture note fees, the DALRO copyright fee and a co-curricular levy as examples. Accommodation, food, transport and research costs also fall outside the remission; the 2027 guide quotes residence accommodation at R58,175 a year. For international students, the 2027 guide says full-time research Master’s and doctoral students pay only an international levy of R2,300 per semester.

Who UKZN treats as eligible

• You must be registered full-time, which UKZN defines as able to devote at least 40 hours a week to your studies and carry a full credit load of coursework or research each semester.
• The degree must be a Master’s by research or a doctorate. Coursework Master’s degrees, Honours and postgraduate diplomas are charged normal fees.
• Remission applies to your first Master’s and first doctoral degree only, not to a second qualification at the same level.
• Students who first register part-time and later switch to full-time do not qualify.
• Anyone receiving, or eligible for, UKZN staff fee remission (including staff dependants) is excluded.

When the remission has to be paid back

The repayment clauses are the part most students miss. Under UKZN’s conditions:

• If you deregister, are excluded for any reason, or fail to re-register before the final registration date in a later year or semester, you must immediately repay the full remission received to date, plus any scholarships, bursaries or grants from the University Main Fund.
• Switching from full-time to part-time within the first six months after registration forfeits the remission. UKZN then charges part-time fees from the first year and requires repayment of the remission received.
• Switching to part-time in the second six months or in a later year means continuation fees from then on, without repaying the whole remission.
• A finding of misconduct can lead UKZN to withdraw the remission and any university scholarship or grant.
• Students in default on money owed to UKZN may not register or stay registered.

Accepting remission through the Higher Degrees Office

UKZN’s 2025 fee booklet, the latest one published on the university site, says all first-time full-time research Master’s and doctoral students may apply. The Higher Degrees Office in your School takes you through the online Higher Degrees Management System (HDMS), which has a single fee remission screen where you accept or decline the award. Once you accept the terms, financial clearance for registration follows and the fee account is credited, provided you have no fees outstanding from earlier years. Historic debt must be settled first.

The remission does not have a separate deadline. UKZN’s 2027 Postgraduate Application Guide states that Master’s (research) and doctoral applications have no closing date, and South African postgraduate applicants can apply through the university’s online application system. The terms are available from the Student Funding scholarships page.

Paying for living costs as well

Because remission only removes tuition, most research students also need a stipend. The 2027 guide says UKZN’s Student Funding Centre holds application forms for external scholarships such as those from the National Research Foundation. See the DSI-NRF Postgraduate Scholarship, the UKZN doctoral research scholarships and our postgraduate bursaries list. The UKZN provider profile collects the university’s other funding.

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About UKZN

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The University of KwaZulu-Natal came into being in 2004, when the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville merged. UKZN describes itself as building on more than a century of higher education in the province, and the…

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