Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Masters and Doctoral funding

NRF-DAAD In-Country Scholarships 2026

Together with the National Research Foundation (NRF) in South Africa, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) awards funding opportunities for Master and PhD degrees at South African Universities to South African citizens or permanent South African residents as part of its In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Programme.

Application deadline: 04 July 2025

Click here for more information

DSI-NRF Postgraduate Student Funding for the 2026 Academic Year

The DSTI and NRF are pleased to announce a call for new applications for DSTI-NRF Master’s and Doctoral Student Funding for the academic year 2026. 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 minimum academic requirement for postgraduate funding is 65% for the previous degree. 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. The scholarships are intended to support master’s and doctoral candidates to pursue studies in all areas of Science, Engineering, Technology, Social Sciences, and Humanities.

All the postgraduate students will be expected to apply on the NRF Connect System by accessing the link: https://nrfconnect.nrf.ac.za/. No manual applications will be accepted.

Students’ Applications Opening and Closing Dates:

NB: Honours General Scholarships will open in July 2025.

Honours applicants requiring ISFAP assessment should submit their applications by 02 September 2025.

Please refer to the Application and Funding Guide and Framework documents when completing the online application form at every step of the process.

• Application Guide for SARAO Masters Scholarships for 2026
• Application Guide for SARAO Doctoral Scholarships for 2026
• DSI NRF Masters and Doctoral Application and Funding Guide for 2026
• DSTI NRF Postgraduate Scholarship Framework for 2026 Funding
• NRF Statement of expectation for Postgradute Training 2026
• Frequently Asked Questions

*All postgraduate call documents can be accessed via the NRF website: https://www.nrf.ac.za/funding/nrf-call-for-proposals-for-funding-in-2025-and-2026/.

For Technical related enquiries, please contact:

• NRF Support desk
• Telephone: 012 481 4202
• Email: supportdesk@nrf.ac.za

Queries related to specific funding opportunities can be directed to: postgraduatequeries@risa.nrf.ac.za.

The subject line of your email must have the following information in order to be routed correctly:

• Level i.e., Honours, Master’s or Doctoral
• Funding opportunity e.g., General, SARChI, NRF-MINDS, Manus MatSci
• Application reference number starting with prefix PMDS25…

For SARAO Master's and Doctoral-related enquiries, please contact:

Annah Mashemola at amashemola@sarao.ac.za. Telephone: 011 268 3420.

For SARAO Honours-related enquiries, please contact:

Mkhululi Jodwana at mjodwana@sarao.ac.za. Telephone: 011 268 3412.

CPUT DA responsible for the Call:

Ms Mtembukazi Sibindlana (sibindlanam@cput.ac.za)

National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) available Bursaries

For a list of under- and postgraduate bursary opportunities, please click here.

For all bursary-related queries, contact Ms Mtembukazi Sibindlana at sibindlanam@cput.ac.za.