The Aubrey Parsons Study Grant is a once-off R20 000 award from the SAAFoST Foundation, the funding arm of the South African Association for Food Science and Technology. It rewards one top-performing honours or B-Tech student per eligible food science or food technology department. It is not a postgraduate research scholarship: SAAFoST runs a separate award, the Brian Koeppen Memorial Scholarship, for Master’s and doctoral students.
R20 000 for your honours or B-Tech, paid once
SAAFoST caps the grant at R20 000 per student in total, however many years the BSc (Hons) or B-Tech takes. The Foundation pays the money straight to the university towards fees; it does not go into the student’s bank account. Winners receive the award at a local SAAFoST branch meeting or another SAAFoST event.
The eight departments in the running
SAAFoST sets aside one Parsons grant for each of these departments:
- Food Science at Stellenbosch, Pretoria, Venda and Free State universities (BSc Hons);
- Food Technology at CPUT, DUT, TUT and UJ (B-Tech).
Each institution may nominate only one student, and a grant cannot be shared between two students or transferred to someone else.
Marks first, need second
Heads of department choose their nominee firstly on academic excellence and secondly on financial need. SAAFoST expects:
- full-time study only;
- an average of at least 70% through your earlier years of study, with a clear record of academic distinction;
- SAAFoST membership for at least 12 months before the nomination, which means a third-year student hoping for the grant should join the association during third year at the latest.
The SAAFoST Foundation adjudicates the nominations and says its decision is final.
Nominations close on 26 February 2027
SAAFoST’s Aubrey Parsons Study Grant page has the nomination form in PDF and Word format and gives 26 February 2027 as the closing date for the current round. Your department returns the form by email to the Membership Development Officer (mdo@saafost.org.za, 071 870 2633), with two attachments:
- your complete academic record for all previous years;
- proof that you are registered full-time.
Because the deadline falls early in the academic year, raise the grant with your head of department before registration week rather than after it.
A grant that skipped three years
SAAFoST’s recipients list shows no Parsons grants in 2022, 2023 or 2024. The award returned in 2025 with five winners, from UNIVEN, TUT, UP, UJ and DUT, and four more followed in 2026, from UJ, CPUT, DUT and TUT. Not every eligible department ends up with a winner in a given year.
Where to look for the rest of your fees
R20 000 covers only part of an honours year. Students heading into honours can also check the NRF honours and postgraduate bursaries, and food and agriculture students should browse the science bursaries listed on BursaryForms. If you continue to a Master’s, the Koeppen scholarship becomes your next SAAFoST option once you have been registered for a year.