The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) runs its external bursary through its Learning Academy, the unit that also runs the department’s graduate trainee and internship programmes. The bursary is a recruitment route: DWS pays for a water-related degree or diploma, then places the graduate in the Learning Academy to work it back. DWS published a 2027 application form on the Learning Academy site. Its forms have used 30 September as the cut-off, so the round for the 2027 academic year has most likely closed, although we could not open the 2027 form to confirm its exact date.
How DWS chooses its bursars
The Learning Academy’s bursary criteria page says DWS weighs four things together: academic performance, race and gender, financial need, and the department’s own need for the qualification. The application form adds that the awards target previously disadvantaged people from poor and rural communities, and it invites students with disabilities to apply. DWS leaves the entry marks to the universities: its Q&A page says the points needed are set by the institution, not by the department.
You must study at one of the public universities DWS lists. In June 2026 the Learning Academy listed 23, among them UP, UKZN, Wits, UJ, UCT, Stellenbosch, TUT, DUT, CPUT, VUT, CUT, Walter Sisulu, Fort Hare, Venda, Limpopo, North-West, Mpumalanga and Sol Plaatje. DWS does not fund TVET college programmes, two-year diplomas or certificates.
Which courses the yearly form allows
The Learning Academy names a broad pool of fields it may fund, from hydrology, geohydrology and geology to analytical chemistry, microbiology, aquatic science, environmental management, GIS, water care and civil, mechanical and electrical (heavy current) engineering. Each year’s form then narrows that pool to the qualifications DWS needs. The form for the 2026 academic year, for example, accepted first-year students only, in:
- BSc or BEng in Civil, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering
- BSc in Hydrology, Geohydrology, Water Project Management or Environmental Management
- BSc Honours in Hydrology, Geohydrology or Environmental and Water Sciences
- Three-year National Diplomas or BEng Tech in Civil, Mechanical or Electrical (Heavy Current) Engineering, and the National Diploma in Water Care
DWS rejected any qualification not on that form’s list. Check the list on the 2027 form before assuming your course qualifies, because DWS revises it every year.
What the bursary pays and what you owe back
DWS pays full registration and tuition, residence and meal fees, a book allowance and an annual personal allowance. In return, the Learning Academy expects graduates to join it on a fixed-term contract of up to three years, under a mentor in a DWS line function. The declaration on the application form goes further, describing a service obligation of four years after qualifying, so read the contract in your bursary pack closely before signing.
DWS does not allow double funding. Its form warns that a bursar who also accepts NSFAS or another sponsor will lose the DWS bursary, so applicants offered more than one award must choose.
Applying by email with a signed form
DWS does not use an online portal for this bursary. Applicants download the PDF form from the DWS Learning Academy bursary page, complete it in block letters, sign it and email it to bursaries@dws.gov.za with the compulsory documents. On the 2026 form those were:
- The Grade 12 certificate, or Grade 11 and first-semester Grade 12 results for learners still at school
- A certified copy of the applicant’s ID
- Proof of application, provisional acceptance or a firm offer from the university
- For honours applicants, the undergraduate academic record and proof of acceptance
- Proof of both parents’ income, or SASSA grant income
DWS considers only signed, complete applications and accepts nothing after the closing date. The Q&A page says DWS notifies successful applicants by November, and the form says that anyone without written word within three months of the closing date should treat the application as unsuccessful.
Getting ready for the next window
The Learning Academy says applications open between May and August each year; the 2026 form ran from 1 May to 30 September 2025. Learners finishing matric in 2027 should look for the new form from around May 2027 and apply to an approved university early, since DWS wants proof of application with the form. Other water funders include Rand Water and uMngeni-uThukela Water (formerly Umgeni Water), and the engineering bursaries list covers private funders for civil and mechanical students.