Funding application process
Funding application process
Preparation is key. We encourage all student applicants to read through each information section below to ensure you understand the process, the information to provide and the support documents to submit, and the eligibility requirements for an SU external donor bursary and the SU family bursary applications (if you are applying for any of these) before you start to fill out the online application form.
Completing the application form can then be a smooth process, taking about 15 minutes.
Application dates
Applications for 2024 SU funding opportunities open 1 August 2023 and close 30 September 2023.
Who can apply for financial aid?
All prospective* and current students who are South African citizens, or who have permanent residence status, can apply for funding from the University.
Students who come from a home with a gross household income (HHI) of less than R350 000 per year (R29 167 per month) – or a for a student living with a disability, a gross HHI of not more than R600 000 per year (R50 000 per month) – are advised to apply for the government-funded National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) bursary. This bursary is available to South African citizens and all SASSA grant recipients. Applications are done online via the NSFAS website, www.nsfas.org.za.
All prospective and current NSFAS-funded students must also apply to SU Funding Opportunities. The student is then registered on the CUBL database, which ensures you are considered for gap funding (costs not covered by NSFAS allowances) from the University. Gap funding includes top-up, shortfall, emergency, and/or graduate debt funding and it aims to bridge the financial gaps not covered by NSFAS.
IMPORTANT NOTE The University has limited funds available. An application for funding is not a guarantee that funding will be granted.
*Student has received a conditional or a final offer from Stellenbosch University (SU) and student has a unique, 8-digit SU student number
Bursary Yearbook
The Bursary Yearbook lists SU-managed as well as private company, trust, and government bursaries and funds. These are grouped by faculty, though we suggest that no matter your study programme, you at least also review all the listings in Section 1 (bursaries for study in most faculties) and in Section 3 (Faculty of Science). Any bursary offered across more than one faculty may only be listed under the Science faculty. Please take note of the differing closing dates and application processes.
All listings that state ‘Applications: my.sun.ac.za’ means you need to apply via the SU Funding Opportunities online site. The CUBL bursary officers select and/or nominate candidates according to these bursary-specific eligibility criteria and/or under funder-bursar conditions and instructions.
Application site
The process is online. No emailed applications will be accepted or considered.
Kindly be aware that the application site doesn’t store any information you provide until you reach the stage of uploading support documents. If you choose to exit the application form at any point before this, please be advised that you will need to start over again.
It’s therefore best to complete your application (ie, upload all your required support documents in one sitting) before the closing date. And then please check your mailbox on a regular basis – and also the spam folder!
IMPORTANT NOTE You will have the option to apply for SU Funding Opportunities or an External Student Loan. The student loan is an application to an external company, Student Hero, and is not managed nor administered by Stellenbosch University.
Support documents
Please take careful note of the following information and support documents required to complete a funding application:
THE STUDENT
|
THE STUDENT’S SPOUSE
|
FAMILY INFORMATION
|
|
THE STUDENT’s FIRST PARENT or LEGAL GUARDIAN/ GUARDIAN
|
THE STUDENT’S SECOND PARENT or LEGAL GUARDIAN/ GUARDIAN
|
plus the FORM CONSENT signed by all parties
|
_formal employment latest salary slip (not older than 3 months) or ITA34
_informal employment affidavit that states the monthly income and includes the source of income (eg. vegetable seller, domestic worker, freelancer)
_self-employment bank statements clearly showing monthly income (and not older than 3 months) or ITA34
_unemployed affidavit (that states date since unemployed) or retrenchment letter or UIF slip
SU external donor bursaries
- Download and complete the unique application form.
- Prepare any additional support documentation – refer to table below.
- You will be prompted to upload this documentation during your online application.
NAME OF EXTERNAL DONOR BURSARY |
UNIQUE APPLICATION FORM & SUPPORT DOCUMENTS(that also form part of the application) |
DIPPENAAR family trust bursary EMS students only |
|
DORIS CROSSLEY trust |
1st Reference Doris Crossley |
DU TOIT HUGENOTE |
Motivation Hugenote |
DW ACKERMANN Engineering students only |
|
JANNIE MOUTON | |
PIET NEETHLING educational-trust |
FORM PIET NEETHLING (AFR only)
|
PSG | |
RODNEY AFRICA bursary Law students only |
|
SHEILA BRAND trust | |
Die VLAKTE bursary fund |
Family bursaries
There are 11 family bursaries listed in the Bursary Yearbook. Please review the family tree eligibility criteria and only if you are applying for any of these bursaries, then note the following important points:
- It is imperative the student provides proof of descendancy (family tree). Please don’t apply if you cannot prove the descendancy requirement.
- Download and complete the ‘Family Bursary’ application form.
- You will be prompted to upload this documentation during your online application.
NAME OF FAMILY BURSARY(Bursary Yearbook page) |
FAMILY BURSARY APPLICATION FORM & PROOF OF DESCENDANCY (FAMILY TREE) INFORMATION(that also forms part of the application) |
Anna Juliana THERON (30 / pdf-37) |
Proof of family kinship |
AW SCHUMANN (25 / pdf-32) Physics and/or Maths students only |
Preference to descendants of AW Schumann, all else being equal |
Ds DH NEETHLING (14 / pdf-21) Theology students only |
Descendants of the Rev DH Neethling |
Elizabeth MARAIS (13 / pdf-20) |
Direct descendants of Abraham Barend de Villiers and Theophile Antonia de Villiers (née Van der Lingen) |
Elizabeth VILJOEN trust (16 / pdf-23) |
Descendants and adopted children of brothers and sisters of the late Miss Elizabeth Viljoen |
Frans & Rykie THERON study fund (16 / pdf-23) Theology and Agriculture students only |
Family tree proof that descendants of Theron, Marais or Zeeman |
Fritz & Anna MOSTERT (13 / pdf-20) |
Matriculants from schools in the magistrate districts of Hopefield, Malmesbury, Moorreesburg, Piketberg, Porterville, Velddrift, and Vredenburg |
Johan & Willie SPIES (15 / pdf-22) |
Family tree proof that children of E Wood and Dr CJ de Kock; review additional particulars |
JP SWART (16 / pdf-23) |
Family tree and proof that resident in northern suburbs of Cape Town |
Petrusa VAN ZIJL (16 / pdf-23) |
Family tree proof that descendant of one of the six sisters of the late Mrs Petrusa Groenewald (née van Zijl) |
Prof JH NEETHLING (14 / pdf-21) |
Preference given to direct descendants of Prof JH Neethling’s father, Hendrik Johannes Neethling |
Application form
POPIA Each student will need to agree to the POPI Act (for personal information) and to consent to all documentation (proof of income, ID, certificates, bank statements, etc) being verified by an external service provider before being able to continue with an application.
Support documents Please make extra sure you upload the correct documentation when prompted.
The application form will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
IMPORTANT NOTE You will have the option to apply for SU Funding Opportunities or an External Student Loan. The student loan is an application to an external company, Student Hero, and is not managed nor administered by Stellenbosch University.
Next steps
After submitting your application, you will receive an auto-email to confirm your application was received.
All communication will be to your student email address, so please remember to check this inbox – and the spam folder – on a regular basis.
When will I know if my application was successful?
The first round outcomes for SU funding applications will be communicated to email by end-February 2024. For those students applying specifically for SU external donor bursaries, notification will be sent by end-May 2024.
This communication will only be sent to the student’s email address.
Any problems?
For any technical issues whilst completing your application, please email sufunding@studenthero.co.za or WhatsApp https://wa.me/27716250562 with a screenshot or detailed desciption of the problem encountered.
Technical issues refer to things like: unable to upload support documents; click-button not working; unable to log back on to complete your application; any error message during your online application process.
For general funding or document-type issues, please call SU Client Services on 021 808 9111 or email info@sun.ac.za for assistance – and remember to include your SU student number in the subject line, # / SU-24 funding query.
Office hours Monday to Friday, 08:30 – 16:00
Ready to apply?
Before you go to the online form, let’s quickly recap:
- You’ve read each information section above to ensure that the information you provide is correct and accurate.
- Each support document is labelled to include your SU# as a prefix, and saved as a pdf in a clearly marked folder.
- You have at least 15 minutes blocked off on your calendar to complete the application form.
- Please make sure select the correct funding option on the application form: SU Funding Opportunities.
(The External Student Loan option is not SU-managed and you will be directed to an external site.) - The closing date is midnight of Saturday, 30 September 2023. No emailed or late applications will be accepted or considered.
For any technical issues whilst completing your 2024 SU Funding Opportunities application
Please email sufunding@studenthero.co.za or WhatsApp https://wa.me/27716250562 with a screenshot or detailed description of the problem encountered.
For any general or document issues whilst completing your 2024 SU Funding Opportunities application
Please call 021 808 9111 or email info@sun.ac.za for assistance.
Stellenbosch Campus
Physical Address
Admin A Building, Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch 7600
Office hours
Monday to Friday 8:00 – 16:30
+27 21 808 9111
info@sun.ac.za
Tygerberg Campus
Physical Address
Clinical Building, Francie van Zijl Drive, Tygerberg 7505
Office hours
Monday to Friday 8:00 – 16:30
+27 21 938 9129 / 21 808 9111
tygbursaries@sun.ac.za
Centre for Undergraduate Bursaries and Loans (CUBL)
sunfinaid@sun.ac.za
All NSFAS and FUNZA bursary assistance at SU, including FMHS NSFAS/FUNZA students
nsfas@sun.ac.za
Email correspondence
Due to the high volume of emails received, all email correspondence must please include an SU student number, bursary name/ref, and a short descriptor in the subject line, for example: ‘12345678 / NSFAS – allowance payment query’. This will ensure your enquiry can be attended to promptly and efficiently.