Tom Queba and Pegasys Scholarships for Social Change 2027: An R85,000 Package for Up to Two Years of Honours or Master's Study at a South African University — Stage 1 Closes 14 August 2026

Tom Queba and Pegasys Scholarships for Social Change 2027: An R85,000 Package for Up to Two Years of Honours or Master’s Study at a South African University — Stage 1 Closes 14 August 2026

Canon Collins Trust, working in partnership with the Tom Queba Memorial Fund and Pegasys, is accepting applications for scholarships that fund Honours and Master’s study at South African universities beginning in 2027. The scholarship package was valued at R85,000 in 2026, and funding runs for up to a maximum of two years. Stage 1 applications close on 14 August 2026 at 16:00 SAST.

What separates this scholarship from a general postgraduate bursary is the condition attached to the subject of your study. Canon Collins states the requirement plainly: the proposed study must contribute directly to social and/or environmental development, “and particularly to the betterment of lives and livelihoods of the poorest people in South Africa.” That sentence is the scholarship. Everything else — the degree class, the age limit, the transcripts — is a filter you pass before anyone reads what you actually intend to work on.

Key Details

What the Scholarship Actually Provides

The headline is an R85,000 package, quoted as the 2026 value. Canon Collins does not publish a line-by-line breakdown of what that figure covers on the scholarship page, and it does not state how many awards are made in a given cycle. Treat the R85,000 as the stated package value rather than as a guaranteed itemised budget, and read the downloadable guidelines on the scholarship page for the current year’s terms before you build a financial plan around it.

Funding is provided for up to a maximum of two years. That ceiling matters when you choose your registration path. A one-year Honours degree consumes one year of the allowance. A two-year Master’s uses the full entitlement. An Honours-then-Master’s sequence will not both fit inside the maximum, so decide which qualification you are actually applying for and be consistent about it across your application.

The non-financial half is the network. Canon Collins runs an annual conference for current scholars and holds several smaller events through the year, and scholarship holders are expected to participate in these activities and to contribute to the network. This is stated as an expectation, not an optional extra. If you are studying part-time while holding down a job, factor in that these commitments exist.

The Trust also supports full-time, part-time, and distance study, and will consider applications from distance learners. For working professionals in the development, environmental, or education sectors — the kind of applicants Pegasys’s involvement suggests this scholarship is looking for — that flexibility is one of the more useful features of the award.

Who Is Eligible

Canon Collins asks applicants to apply only if they meet all of the criteria. The list is short and each item is a hard gate:

• You must, in terms of definitions provided in South African BEE law, be a black or coloured South African national residing in South Africa.
• You must be under 34 years of age at the commencement of your course. Note the wording — it is the course start, not the application date, that the age is measured against.
• You must hold a good first degree, defined as a minimum of second class, upper division or equivalent, or be about to graduate in the year of application.
• You must be studying, or applying to study, at Honours or Master’s level at a South African university.

Awards are made across four areas: Justice; Education; Humanities and the Arts; and Sciences and Applied Sciences. That spread is wide enough to include most disciplines, which means the discipline you are in is far less decisive than the use your study is put to.

Two points that catch people out. First, “residing in South Africa” is a separate requirement from nationality — a South African national studying or living abroad should read the guidelines carefully before assuming eligibility. Second, “about to graduate in the year of application” means final-year undergraduates can apply; you do not need the certificate in hand at Stage 1, though you do need your transcripts.

How the Two-Stage Application Works

Canon Collins runs a two-stage process, and understanding the shape of it changes how you spend your time.

Stage 1 is deliberately short. You complete and submit a brief online application by 14 August 2026 at 16:00 SAST, and you upload three categories of supporting documentation:

• Copies of degree certificates, if available
• All academic transcripts
• An identity document — a passport, birth certificate, or driver’s licence is acceptable

Only applicants who meet all the eligibility criteria, have submitted a complete application, and have uploaded all required supporting documents will be considered for Stage 2. The Trust is explicit about this. An incomplete upload is not a minor administrative issue at this stage; it removes you from consideration entirely.

Stage 2 is where the substance lives. Applicants successful at Stage 1 will be invited by email in September 2026 to submit a more detailed application. Shortlisted applicants are then invited to interview in October/November 2026, and all applicants are notified of the outcome by mid-December 2026.

The application form can be saved and edited until you choose to submit, and all sections must be completed before the system will allow submission. Canon Collins warns directly about the last-minute rush: every year, as the deadline approaches, the portal sees a surge of traffic that can cause technical glitches, slow loading, or failed submissions. Late applications are not accepted. There is no appeal for a portal that timed out at 15:55.

The AI Rule — Read This Before You Draft Anything

Canon Collins has one of the more unambiguous policies on this in the scholarship world, and it is stated twice on the page. All application materials must be entirely the applicant’s original work. Using artificial intelligence tools — the Trust names ChatGPT and Bard as examples, and includes “similar software” — to generate, edit, or assist with any part of the application is strictly prohibited. Any application that includes content created or modified with the help of AI will be immediately disqualified and rejected without further consideration.

The Trust does carve out a narrow exception: applicants may use standard spelling and grammar checking tools, provided these do not generate or rewrite content. The distinction being drawn is between correcting what you wrote and producing text for you.

Practically, this means you should write your personal statement and research description in your own voice from the start, not draft with a model and then rewrite. Canon Collins also says it reserves the right to reject any application where it believes AI has been used. Prose that reads as generic and machine-smooth is a liability here in a way it is not for most funders.

Building a Case That Fits the Brief

The selection question is not “is this a good degree?” It is “does this study contribute directly to social and/or environmental development, and particularly to the betterment of lives and livelihoods of the poorest people in South Africa?” Two things in that sentence do real work.

“Directly.” A plausible chain of three inferences from your research to a social outcome is weaker than a short one. If you are doing an Honours in environmental science, “this contributes to sustainability” is not an answer. “This measures groundwater contamination in a specific municipality where households rely on boreholes because the reticulated supply fails” is.

“The poorest people.” Not South Africans in general. Name the constituency. Rural households, informal settlement residents, learners in no-fee schools, unemployed young people in a named district — specificity signals that you have thought about who benefits rather than reaching for a category.

Pegasys is a partner in this scholarship, and its work is in water, infrastructure, and development advisory. Canon Collins does not restrict the scholarship to those fields, so do not contort your application to fit them. But if your work sits genuinely in water resources, service delivery, infrastructure, or environmental governance, that alignment is worth making legible rather than leaving implicit.

Where you have real experience — an internship, community work, a job in the sector, an undergraduate project that ran into the actual problem — put it in. The scholarship does not impose a formal track-record requirement, but demonstrated contact with the problem you propose to study is more persuasive than stated intent.

Common Mistakes

• Missing the age measurement. Under 34 at course commencement, not at application. If you are 33 now and turn 34 before a 2027 start, check the guidelines before investing time.
• Assuming the two-year cap stretches. It is a maximum, not a default renewal. Plan the qualification you can finish inside it.
• Uploading a partial document set at Stage 1. Degree certificates if available, all academic transcripts, and an acceptable ID document. “All” transcripts means all — including any institution you transferred from.
• Writing a research summary about a discipline rather than a problem. Reviewers are assessing contribution to social or environmental development, not the intrinsic interest of the field.
• Treating Stage 1 as the whole application. It is a screen. The detailed case comes in September, and you should already know what you will say in it.
• Submitting in the final hours. The Trust says outright that the portal strains near the deadline and that late applications are not accepted.
• Any use of a generative model. Immediate disqualification, stated twice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the scholarship open now? Yes. Canon Collins states it is open for applications, with Stage 1 closing 14 August 2026 at 16:00 SAST.

Can I apply if I have not yet been accepted by a university? Yes. The criteria cover applicants who are “studying or applying to study” at Honours or Master’s level at a South African university.

Can I study part-time or by distance? Yes. Canon Collins supports both full and part-time study and will consider applications from those who wish to study by distance learning.

How many scholarships are awarded? The scholarship page does not state a number. This is not confirmed.

What exactly does the R85,000 cover? The page gives the package value for 2026 but does not publish a cost breakdown. Read the downloadable guidelines on the scholarship page for the current terms.

Do I need referees? Referees are not listed among the Stage 1 requirements. Any additional materials would be specified in the more detailed Stage 2 application.

When will I hear back? Stage 2 invitations go out by email in September 2026, interviews are held in October/November 2026, and all applicants are notified of the outcome by mid-December 2026. Canon Collins asks applicants not to email about outcomes.

Next Steps

1. Check all four eligibility criteria against your own situation, paying particular attention to the age-at-commencement rule and the residence requirement.
2. Download and read the guidelines linked from the scholarship page before you start the form.
3. Gather your documents now: all academic transcripts, degree certificates if you have them, and a passport, birth certificate, or driver’s licence.
4. Write, in your own words, a two- or three-sentence statement of how your proposed study directly improves the lives and livelihoods of a specific group of the poorest people in South Africa. If you cannot do that without hedging, the study focus needs work before the form does.
5. Start and submit the Stage 1 form well before 14 August 2026 at 16:00 SAST.
6. Direct any questions to [email protected].

Official Links

• Scholarship page and application form: canoncollins.org/scholarships/tom-queba-scholarships-for-social-change/
• Canon Collins Trust scholarships enquiries: [email protected]
• General enquiries: [email protected]
• Telephone: +27 10 500 2303 (South Africa), +44 20 8004 8362 (UK)

Canon Collins Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales (no. 1102028) and a registered South African NPO (054-414-NPO). Verify all figures, dates, and criteria against the official scholarship page and the downloadable guidelines before applying — the R85,000 value is quoted as the 2026 figure and may be restated for the 2027 intake.