The Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA) represents the country’s pulp, paper, board and tissue producers, and it offers one kind of bursary: funding for a full-time Master’s in chemical engineering with a research project useful to the paper sector. PAMSA has run this programme for about 16 years. Its call for the 2027–2028 programme closed on 12 June 2026, and PAMSA’s site now states that applications for that intake have closed.
R320,000 for two years of research
Each bursary is worth R320,000 over the two years of the Master’s. PAMSA’s June 2026 announcement says the money goes towards tuition fees, accommodation, study materials and living expenses while the student completes the research. Students can register at one of four participating universities:
- North-West University
- Stellenbosch University
- University of Pretoria
- University of the Witwatersrand
Research topics PAMSA funds
Projects deal with getting more value from wood fibre, recycled fibre and mill waste, and with using less energy and water. PAMSA’s examples include bioethanol and other products from paper sludge, and extracting lignin for use in asphalt, fertilisers and water purification. Past students have turned lignin from pulping liquor into slow-release nitrogen fertiliser, used thermogravimetric analysis to test how paper behaves under heat, fermented food waste into ethanol, and tested mill waste as a raw material for particle-board-style composites.
PAMSA’s entry criteria
- You are in your final year of, or recently completed, a BSc or BEng in Chemical Engineering at a registered South African university.
- Your final-year average is at least 60%.
- You finished, or will finish, the degree within five years.
- You intend to study full-time for the Master’s. PAMSA prefers South African citizens.
Applicants submit a CV, academic transcripts for every year of study, reference letters and a motivation. PAMSA rejects applications that miss any of the criteria and interviews only the candidates it shortlists. Students from other engineering disciplines or from pure chemistry do not qualify, because PAMSA restricts the bursary to chemical engineering graduates.
A route into the mills
Taking part can lead to a post as an engineer-in-training at a PAMSA member company. PAMSA points to graduates now working at Mpact’s Felixton mill on waste-to-energy projects and at Sappi’s Saiccor mill on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast on process improvement. Sappi also runs its own undergraduate scheme, described on our Sappi bursary page, for students who want industry funding earlier in their studies.
When PAMSA calls for applications again
PAMSA’s FAQ says applications open in April each year and close at the end of June, although the 2026 call closed earlier, on 12 June. Chemical engineering students who reach their final year in 2027 should watch the PAMSA Master’s bursary page on The Paper Story from April 2027 and start collecting reference letters early. PAMSA’s news releases sometimes use the name Paper and Allied Manufacturers Association of South Africa; it is the same body.
For other postgraduate funding, compare the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust scholarships and browse the postgraduate bursaries list.