A merit candidate is a student who has obtained a grade point average of over 60% in their final year of study for their last qualification.

Merit awards are funded from a variety of sources. The primary awards for honours, master's and doctoral students are available through the National Research Foundation (NRF). (See Research scholarships.)

Students applying for university-sourced merit awards are encouraged to apply for government funding through the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). Note that the NRF deadline for master's and doctoral support is significantly earlier than the deadline for UCT merit awards. For application procedures see UCT merit and need awards.

International and Refugee students are required to please see the International and refugee scholarships page.

The Postgraduate Funding Office (PGFO) administers several other merit awards that are sourced from various donations and investment funds. These awards are independently advertised via the electronic noticeboard and VULA pages. You are encouraged to familiarise yourself with such opportunities. You may also request a one-on-one session with PGFO staff by emailing pgfunding@uct.ac.za.

December scholarships

UCT awards scholarships each December to graduating students who have performed exceptionally well. Recipients are identified by the university and an application form is not required. Please see the December scholarships.

PG Research scholarships

Scholarships and bursaries funded from a variety of other sources are available. These may be awarded by heads of departments or supervisors to students working on specific projects or programmes. Find out more about these awards from your supervisors, course convenors or heads of academic departments. Please see the PG Research Scholarships pages.

For a detailed list of scholarships refer to booklet 14 (see right column).