Postgraduate Merit Awards for 2019

Those of you who are completing the 3rd year of a 3 yr degree, or a 4th year of a 4yr degree, completing Honours or Masters, and obtain a distinction in your grades or “degree obtained with distinction”, we will consider a merit award to reduce the tuition fees for 2019 (for full time (in attendance) Honours, Master or PhD study only).

Please note that the reduction of the fees will be for 2019 only, a once off award (for the degree) and not renewable for subsequent years for that new degree.

There are some rules governing this process, so it’s not an automatic PC fully driven process – we will begin processing the awards after the results are officially released in December.  No actual award letters will be posted due to volumes. Payment will be credited to your fee account after registration in the new year, around the end of March/April once we have completed the process which entails checking that you have registered for the course that the award was intended.

Other points to note are:

1. Where the  3 yr degree is completed over 4 yrs for example (if not a Foundation degree start), then no award will be made.
2. Where the majors are completed over two different years (split majors), generally the awards are not actioned in such cases.
3. If you obtain a double 1st, either subject at Honours will be funded, but where one major is obtained as a first and the other is not, the following rule applies: the other major must be a 1st or an upper second (2A) for the award to be applicable to both majors. A lower 2nd (2B) or a 3^rd (III), means the award applies only to the subject involving the 1st class pass.
4. Please note: No awards are made for graduates entering a Diploma course, the Honours degree Scholarship is just that: an award to read for a Honours degree, not anything else. The exception to the rule is HDAC, as this is effectively the Honours course with an extra module.
5. Those on the 4 yr degrees, Dr Moodly will continue to action merit awards as normal via the Registrars Division – We will process the BBS 3 to BBS 4.
6. The award is for 2019 and not normally deferred. The deferral to 2019 will only be considered if the gap year is based on an academic reason (or medical), something out of your control – ie course offered alternate years, supervisor on sabbatical in 2019 and cant supervise you, or the dept insists on one year work experience etc. A gap year to “take a break” and travel will not see a deferral actioned.

Value of the merit award:

1. From degree to Honours: 50% off the Honours fee.
2. Those entering from Honours (and 4th yr of a 4 yr degree such as BPharm4, BJrn 4, BBS 4 etc) to Masters, then 75% of the Masters fee will be reduced (based on the MA/MSc fee, not specialist fee rates – for example, MA/MSc fee for 2018 was R21 812, award value was R16 359).
3. Those entering from Masters to PhD with a distinction, 75% reduction in PhD fees.

Finally, there are a number of other automatic awards made for those graduating with their 1st degree, or with Honours, where the top graduates are ranked and relevant merit awards are made. These awards vary from R800 – R20 000, but all who are successful will be advised via email, as well as the data being captured on the fee account to assist with Registration Fee.

Postgraduate Funding : Research Office

For any queries: email pgfunding@ru.ac.za

Tel number: 046-6038755