CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: NRF POSTGRADUATE STUDENT FUNDING FOR THE 2021 ACADEMIC
YEAR
Dear Staff and Students
NB: The NRF has phased out the block grant nomination process
as well as the grant-holder linked modalities of funding postgraduate students
in 2020. All the postgraduate students will be expected to apply on the NRF
Online Submission System by accessing the link: https://nrfsubmission.nrf.ac.za/
See attachments for further
information.
Applicants that have been
recruited by a supervisor to be part of an NRF funded project should provide
an NRF 5 or six-digit grant UID (unique identification number). If there is an
application submitted to the NRF for the project an applicant is recruited to
be part of, the applicant should provide an NRF application reference number
in the section shown below. You can get the UID or the NRF application
reference number from your supervisor.
The DSI and NRF are pleased to announce a call of new
applications for NRF Postgraduate Student Funding for the 2021 Academic
year. 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%. Applicants for honours, masters and
doctoral funding must be 28, 30 and 32 years of age or younger
respectively in the year of application. Successful applicants will be funded
either at Full Cost 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 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,
masters and doctoral candidates to pursue studies in all areas of Science,
Engineering, Technology, Social Sciences, and Humanities.
The NRF has phased out the block grant
nomination process as well as the grant-holder linked modalities of funding
postgraduate students in 2020. As from 2021 funding year, all the postgraduate
students will be expected to apply on the NRF Online Submission System by
accessing the link: https://nrfsubmission.nrf.ac.za/, no manual applications will be accepted. Universities
will set their own internal cut-off dates for applications, and the applicants
must abide by those dates.
INTERNAL CLOSING DATES HAS BEEN SET AS
FOLLOWS:
Honours Applications: 18 NOVEMBER
2020
Masters Applications: 14 JULY 2020
Doctoral Applications: 14 JULY 2020
Masters and Doctoral Extension
Support Applications: 14 JULY 2020
Doctoral Abroad (Nuffic) Applications
Split - Site: 14 JULY 2020
Doctoral Abroad (Nuffic) Applications
Single - Site: 1 June 2020
Please refer to the application and
funding documents when completing the online application form at every step of
the process.
For enquiries, applicants’ are encouraged to contact the Research or
Postgraduate offices at their universities (Ms Hlengiwe Zondo (ZondoH@ukzn.ac.za or
Abongile Mpofu – MpofuA@ukzn.ac.za)