Key facts
- Status
- Check with the provider
- Provider
- University of Pretoria
- Study level
- Undergraduate, University
- Academic year
- 2027
- Last checked
- September 2026
UP publishes 2027 Fly@UP Assist first-year and senior award amounts; the awards are automatic with no closing date, though supporting documents must be uploaded by the end of February.
VerifiedThe University of Pretoria (UP) pays merit money under the Fly@UP name, and none of it needs an application form. First-years are rewarded for their final school results through the Fly@UP Assist First-Year Awards and a set of named awards led by the Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Merit Award. Returning undergraduates are rewarded for their previous year’s marks at UP through the Fly@UP Assist Senior Undergraduate Awards. Every award is credited automatically, and every one is open to students of any citizenship except where a condition below says otherwise. UP adds that all awards depend on available funds.
Rand values for NSC, IEB and SACAI matriculants
UP’s first-year awards page publishes the 2027 amounts for learners with Umalusi-issued certificates. Award A is based on the average of the six best subjects, excluding Life Orientation:
| Award | Result needed | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Award A | Six-subject average of 80% to 89.99% | R18,000 |
| Award A | Six-subject average of 90% to 100% | R45,000 |
| Award B (only with Award A) | 80% or more in Mathematics, Physical Sciences, or an advanced, further, alpha or additional version of either | R2,000 per qualifying subject |
A learner with 80% in Mathematics but a six-subject average below 80% gets nothing from Award B. Mathematical Literacy, Technical Mathematics and Technical Sciences are not eligible, and Practical Music counts only at Grade 6, 7 or 8. UP uses its own formula per examination authority, never rounds the average up, and ignores re-marked papers.
Cambridge and IB symbols
For certificates not issued by Umalusi, UP pays R5,000 per qualifying symbol, once per subject, with a ceiling of R30,000 per student. Qualifying symbols are an A*, A or B at Cambridge A-Level, an A at AS-Level, a 6 or 7 at IBDP Higher Level, and a 7 at IBDP Standard Level. An A-Level A and an AS-Level A in Mathematics earn R5,000, not R10,000. Other international qualifications that UP can convert to its bursary formula may also earn up to R30,000.
Gap years and the February upload
The first-year awards go to first-time entering students who register straight after their final school year. A student with one gap year can still be considered after uploading an official SAPS affidavit that states what they did since Matric. Anyone who registered at another tertiary institution, or at UP in an earlier year, is excluded. Affidavits, a Practical Music report and any results missing from the final statement must be uploaded to the UP Student Portal by the end of February, or the award is forfeited. A student who discontinues, is excluded or leaves UP during the award year loses the award, and UP makes no payouts from it.
The Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Merit Award and three named awards
UP’s table of other Fly@UP awards is still headed 2026, with a note that amounts may be updated for 2027:
- Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Merit Award: three years of tuition, with further years considered case by case, and up to R150,000 in the first year. It is offered to the first-year with the highest final school average overall, the top first-year from a quintile 1, 2 or 3 school, and the top first-year in each faculty. The award letter sets the full terms.
- Vice-Chancellor’s Previously Disadvantaged Group Award: R17,000 for top new African and Coloured first-years with the highest averages who matriculated the previous year. Gap-year students are not eligible.
- Grade 12 Dux Scholar Award: R11,000 to the top Grade 12 achiever of each school UP has identified, one learner per school.
- JuniorTukkie Grade 11 Empowerment Week Award: R16,000 each for the 40 learners with the best Grade 12 results among those who attended UP’s JuniorTukkie Empowerment Week in Grade 11.
Senior awards based on last year’s GPA at UP
UP’s senior undergraduate awards page lists R5,000 for a previous-year grade point average of 75% to 79.99% and R11,000 for 80% to 100%, credit-weighted across every module registered. The same page later says a GPA of at least 80% is needed, so students in the 75% band should confirm with UP. To be considered, a contact student must have been at UP the previous year, registered for at least 100 credits, passed at least 80% of those credits, and not have been in the final year. Summer and winter school results count.
Distance, special, postgraduate and externally presented programmes are excluded, as are students who were dismissed, suspended or discontinued, and transfers from other institutions. The award is given for one year fewer than the minimum length of the programme, and automatically no more than five times. It is fully repayable if the student stops studying during the award year, and credit refunds are limited to half the first-semester balance, with the rest paid in September.
Questions go to UP’s Student Service Centre on +27 (0)12 420 3111 or ssc@up.ac.za. Other funding linked to the university is on our University of Pretoria profile, athletes can look at the TuksSport bursary, and our undergraduate bursaries list covers outside funders.
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About University of Pretoria
Public university (research-intensive)
The University of Pretoria (UP), known to students as Tuks or Tukkies, is one of South Africa's largest public research universities. UP began in 1908 as the Transvaal University College and became a full university in 1930. Its…
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