The Department of Research Administration and Development encourages postgraduate students to apply for the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and National Research Foundation (NRF) student funding for the academic year 2023. All continuing students who are eligible for a second or third year of funding must submit a Progress Report and not a new application.
The NRF’s minimum academic requirement for postgraduate funding is 65%. The entry age requirement is 28, 30, and 32 years or younger for honours, masters, and doctoral studies, respectively, in the year of application, regardless of the first year of registration. Successful applicants will be funded either at Full Cost of Study (FCS) or Partial Cost of Study (PCS). The FCS funding will be awarded to South African citizens and permanent residents only, who are either financially needy (i.e., those whose combined household family income is less than or equal to R350 000 per annum), living with a disability, or exceptional academic achievers. However, the PCS funding will be awarded to 5% of international students, including South African citizens and permanent residents, who could not be funded under FCS but meet other minimum requirements for the NRF scholarship funding criteria. Scholarships are intended to support honours, master’s, and doctoral candidates to pursue studies in all areas of Science, Engineering, Technology, Social Sciences, and Humanities.
All postgraduate students must apply through the NRF Connect system by following the link: https://nrfconnect.nrf.ac.za/. No manual applications will be accepted.
Applicant closing dates:
Applicant closing dates:
Level of study | Application Closing dates |
Honours | 20 November 2022 |
First-time Master’s | 08 July 2022 |
First-time Doctoral | 08 July 2022 |
Master’s and Doctoral Extension Support | 15 August 2022 |
When completing the online application form, please refer to the Application and Funding Guide and Framework documents at each step of the process. Documents can be found at: https://www.nrf.ac.za/funding/call-documents/nrf-call-for-proposals-for-funding-in-2022-and-2023/
For inquiries, applicants are encouraged to contact the Research or Postgraduate offices at their universities.