University of South Africa (UNISA)

The University of South Africa (UNISA) is Africa's largest open distance learning institution, enrolling students across South Africa and internationally through a distance-based model rather than a physical campus.

UNISA funds its own postgraduate bursaries, and channels external funding such as BANKSETA bursaries, because a large share of its student body is financially independent adults returning to study - a different funding profile from a typical contact university's school-leaver intake, which is why its bursary criteria often look different from campus-based institutions.

UNISA-administered postgraduate bursaries carry no employment work-back obligation, though SETA-funded bursaries channelled through UNISA (such as the BANKSETA bursary) may carry the sponsoring SETA's own conditions.