The Mandela Rhodes Foundation offers the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship to young leaders from anywhere in Africa who want to do an Honours or Master’s degree at a South African university. The scholarship pays for the degree and comes with a compulsory leadership programme. The Foundation describes the scholar it wants as someone whose blend of character and intellect Africa can be proud of. More than 760 scholars have been selected across 21 classes so far.
The Class of 2028 window: 9 March to 14 April 2027
The Mandela Rhodes Foundation selects each class a year ahead. Applications for the Class of 2027 are closed. The next round, for students starting postgraduate study in 2028, opens on 9 March 2027 and closes at the end of Wednesday, 14 April 2027 (23:59 South African time). Applications go through the apply page on the Mandela Rhodes Foundation website.
That means a student in their final undergraduate year in 2027 applies in March and April 2027 for funding that starts in January 2028. Use the months before the window opens to line up referees and draft your essays.
Can you apply? The Foundation’s checklist
- You are a citizen of an African country (South Africans included).
- You are between 19 and 29 in the year you apply.
- You will hold an undergraduate degree by 1 January 2028.
- Your academic record is above 70%, or an upper-second-class Honours.
- You plan to study an Honours or Master’s degree, in any field, taught in English, in person at one of the South African universities on the Foundation’s list.
The Foundation’s list of partner universities includes UCT, Wits, the University of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Stellenbosch, Rhodes, the University of the Free State, North-West University, TUT, the University of Limpopo, CPUT, DUT, Walter Sisulu University and AFDA, among others. Check the full list on the Foundation’s page before you apply.
The Foundation does not fund MBAs, block-release courses or programmes delivered mostly online, and distance learning does not qualify.
Degree costs plus a leadership programme
For a one-year Honours or a two-year Master’s, the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship pays tuition and registration fees, along with allowances for accommodation, meals, medical aid, study materials, research and personal costs. Scholars coming from outside South Africa also get economy-class flights. The Foundation does not pay university application fees, SAQA evaluation costs or visa fees.
Every scholar must complete the Leadership Development Programme, which lasts one or two years to match the degree. The Foundation runs it mainly through week-long, in-person workshops with the rest of the class, plus mentorship and a network of past scholars across the continent.
From online form to October interviews
The online application asks for three recommendation letters, academic transcripts, degree certificates, scans of your ID and passport, and two short essays. One essay covers your personal journey and the other answers a question about the Foundation’s principles.
Selection then runs over several rounds. Based on the Foundation’s published timeline for this cycle, the Class of 2028 can expect:
- Round two results in mid-July 2027.
- Round three results at the end of July 2027.
- Final-round interview invitations, or regret letters, by the end of August 2027.
- Interviews in South Africa in October 2027, with results by the end of that month.
- From October to December, successful scholars secure university admission and, where needed, study visas.
Because the Foundation only confirms awards in October, apply for university places and other postgraduate funding at the same time. The Oppenheimer Memorial Trust scholarship supports master’s and doctoral study, and NRF honours funding is another route for Honours students. For more options, see our postgraduate bursaries list.
Can I hold the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship at a university outside South Africa?
No. The scholarship only covers study at the South African universities on the Foundation’s list.
I finish my degree at the end of 2027. Do I apply now or in 2027?
Apply in the window from 9 March to 14 April 2027. That round selects the Class of 2028, and you need your undergraduate degree by 1 January 2028.