Sasol Foundation Bursary Programme

Who can apply

South African citizenship by birth specifically, not naturalised citizenship, per the application portal's own screening criteria
Combined household income must not exceed R800,000 a year; selection prioritises financially needy and academically competitive candidates within that ceiling
Not older than 25 at the time of application, and applying for a first undergraduate degree only; continuing students (2nd to 4th year) need an average of 60% across all modules to date
Full-time study only, at an approved public South African university or university of technology; distance-learning institutions such as UNISA do not qualify
Priority given to students from Sasol's local communities, children of Sasol employees, and children of Sasol Khanyisa shareholders
Primarily for STEM disciplines, with a limited number of places in select non-STEM fields
Shortlisted applicants complete online psychometric testing before the interview stage; all applicants are notified of the outcome by the end of November
Applications are submitted directly through the Sasol bursaries portal, not through Sasol's corporate site; only one application per student is accepted

“All-inclusive” is real, but the amounts stay unquantified

Read “all-inclusive” as a real description, not marketing: Sasol frames this as comprehensive undergraduate support, wrap-around academic help, personal development, and work-readiness training alongside the money itself, aimed specifically at academically strong students who face real financial barriers. Neither the Foundation’s media release nor the application portal itemises the actual amounts, so treat the funding as substantial but unquantified. One clarification worth making plainly: this Foundation track does not fund postgraduate study at all for the current academic year; Sasol runs a separate Mainstream bursary programme, with its own workback obligation, for that.

The screening criteria are far more specific than “low-income”

The application portal’s own screening criteria are considerably more specific than the general “low-income or missing-middle household” framing suggests. Citizenship must be by birth, not naturalised, and combined household income cannot exceed R800,000 a year. You must not be older than 25, and you’re applying for your first undergraduate degree only; if you’re already partway through one, you need an average of 60% across all your modules so far to remain eligible. Study has to be full-time at an approved public South African university or university of technology, and distance-learning institutions such as UNISA are explicitly excluded.

Priority groups, and the selection funnel once you clear screening

Eligibility layers several priority groups rather than a single criterion: general South African applicants from low-income or missing-middle households who clear the screening above, students from Sasol’s own local communities, children of Sasol employees, and children of Sasol Khanyisa shareholders. STEM fields dominate the funded disciplines, with priority for “future capabilities” areas the portal names as Green Economy and Digitalisation, engineering, IT, data science, environmental sciences among them, alongside only a small number of places for select non-STEM subjects like accounting. Once you clear initial screening, shortlisted applicants sit online psychometric testing before an interview stage, and everyone who applied is notified of the outcome by the end of November, whichever way it goes.

The window was short, and other Sasol tracks run on their own separate schedules

The window here was short and easy to miss if you weren’t watching for it: applications for the 2027 intake ran 1 to 23 August 2026, a three-week window rather than a months-long cycle, and it has now closed with no date yet published for the next round. It is worth knowing this is only one of several bursary and development tracks Sasol runs through the same sasolbursaries.com portal, each on its own separate schedule, including a Mining Fence-line bursary and a Technician Development Programme running later into September. If you land on this entry after the Foundation window has closed, it is worth checking the portal directly rather than assuming every Sasol opportunity closed on the same date.