NRF Postgraduate Scholarship South Africa 2025 – 2026
ABOUT THE COMPANY – NRF
The National Research Foundation (NRF) was established as an independent government agency and statutory body, through the National Research Foundation Act (Act No 23 of 1998). The purpose of the NRF is to promote and support research by way of funding, human resource development and necessary research facilities in order to facilitate the creation of knowledge, innovation and development in all fields of science and technology, including indigenous knowledge, and thereby contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of all South Africans.
ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME – FIELDS COVERED
The NRF Postgraduate Scholarship will be awarded for Honours, Masters and Doctoral studies within the following fields:
- Engineering
- Humanities
- Science
- Social Sciences
- Technology
The scholarship will provide 2 types of funding: Full Cost Study (FCS) and Partial Cost of Study (PCS).
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must satisfy the following minimum entry criteria before applying (please note that failure to satisfy all the requirements will lead to your application not being considered):
- Full Cost Study scholarship: must be a South African citizen and permanent resident
- Full Cost Study scholarship: must be financially needy (with a combined household family income of NO more than R350 000 per year) OR have a disability OR are an exceptional academic achiever
- Partial Cost of Study scholarship: international student (5% of funding) OR South African citizens and permanent resident
- Partial Cost of Study scholarship: do NOT meet the requirements of the FCS scholarship but DO meet the other scholarship requirements below
- Achieved a minimum overall average of 65%
- Honours students: NOT older than 28 years old in 2020
- Masters students: NOT older than 30 years old in 2020
- Doctoral students: NOT older than 32 years old in 2020
bursaries
HOW TO APPLY FOR THE SCHOLARSHIP
Application must be done online via the NRF Online Submission System: https://nrfsubmission.nrf.ac.za/
You will be required to Register an account (https://nrfsubmission.nrf.ac.za/nrfmkii/User/RegisterUser.aspx) before you can Login and apply.
Please view the relevant Application Guides and Funding Framework before applying here: https://www.nrf.ac.za/bursaries/framework-documents/bursaries-framework-documents
Submit copies of the following supporting documentation along with your online application form (the submission of these documents is compulsory – if any items are missing, your application be disregarded):
- South African Identity Document, if a South African citizen and permanent resident (certified copy)
- Passport, if a foreign national (certified copy)
- Official academic record (on university letterhead)
- Official letter from the university confirming 1st year of registration for the degree and indicating any outstanding fees owed, if applicable
- Medical certificate, if you have a disability
- If previously supported by NSFAS or ISFAP, attach proof in the way of an official university stamped financial statement showing that funds coming from these funders/ statement from the funder or a letter form NSFAS, ISFAP or the university stating that the applicant received funding from them
(Please note: all attachments must be combined into 1 single PDF document)
CLOSING DATE
18 December 2021.
(Applications submitted after this date will not be accepted – please apply before the closing date to ensure your application is considered.)
CONTACT THE SCHOLARSHIP PROVIDER
Students should contact their respective University Research or Postgraduate office should they have any queries.
For any technical online enquiries, please contact the NRF directly:
Tel: 012 481 4202 (Mondays to Friday, from 08:00 to 16:30)
For other queries, please contact one of the below people:
– General First-time Masters and Doctoral including DAAD related enquiries:
Contact Person: Ms Kgaugelo Molepo (Professional Officer – HICD)
Tel: 012 481 4148, Email: kgaugelo.molepo@nrf.ac.za
– Masters and Doctoral Extension Support related enquiries:
Contact Person: Ms Busisiwe Sibiya (Professional Officer – HICD)
Tel: 012 481 4166, Email: busisiwe.sibiya@nrf.ac.za
– General Honours related enquiries:
Contact Person: Mr Lehlogonolo Phaahla (Professional Officer – HICD)
Tel: 012 481 4315, Email: lehlogonolo.phaahla@nrf.ac.za
– SASAC related enquiries:
Contact Person: Mr Nelson Komane (Professional Officer – HICD)
Tel: 012 481 4219, Email: nelson@nrf.ac.za
– First-time SARChI Honours, Masters and Doctoral related enquiries:
Contact Person: Ms Andisiwe Jukuda (Professional Officer – RCCE)
Tel: 012 481 4113, Email: andisiwe.jukuda@nrf.ac.za
– First-time CoEs Honours, Masters and Doctoral related enquiries:
Contact Person: Ms Malekgotla Finger (Professional Officer – RCCE)
Tel: 012 481 4003, Email: malekgotla.finger@nrf.ac.za
– NRF-SARAO Postgraduate scholarships related enquiries:
Contact Person: Annah Mashemola (Professional Officer – HCD – SARAO)
Tel: 011 442 2434, Email: amashemola@ska.ac.za
