FirstRand Empowerment Foundation Honours Bursary for 2027

The FirstRand Empowerment Foundation Postgraduate Bursary, administered with Feenix, supports eligible South African students from under resourced communities who plan to start their first honours qualification in 2027. Applicants must be Black South African citizens under the programme definition, aged 18 to 35 by 31 December 2027, and must be applying for their first full time honours degree at an eligible South African public university. The published criteria include a minimum undergraduate average of 60 percent, at least 60 percent in NSC Mathematics and combined household income no greater than R700 000 per year.

The approved fields include actuarial science, agricultural sciences, psychology in the specified honours programme, biosciences, climate sciences, computer science, data science, electronics, engineering, environmental sciences, indigenous knowledge systems, information management, information science, information systems, information technology, mathematical sciences, mathematics, physics, renewable energy, risk, sciences and statistics. Commerce qualifications are not eligible. Applicants must also meet admission requirements for the qualification and institution.

The official application page gives 31 December 2026 as the provisional closing date and explains that an application does not guarantee funding. The public page does not provide a complete expense breakdown or award value. This record should remain unpublished until that funding coverage has been confirmed so that the platform does not imply a full or partial award without evidence.