South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) and Department of Science and Technology (DST) are working in partnership with TWAS to advance science in developing countries through two doctoral fellowships: the NRF-TWAS Doctoral Fellowships and the NRF-TWAS African Renaissance Doctoral Fellowships.

Course Level: Doctoral

Eligible Countries: Developing Countries & African Countries

Eligibility Criteria:  Applicants for these fellowships must meet the following criteria:

TWAS-NRF Doctoral Programme:

  • be nationals of a developing country* (other than South Africa);
  • must not hold any visa for temporary or permanent residency in South Africa or any developed country;
  • must be a maximum of 35 years of age by 31 December of the year of application;
  • must have obtained an MSc degree in a field of natural sciences;
  • provide evidence that s/he will return to her/his home country on completion of the fellowship;
  • not take up other assignments during the period of her/his fellowship;
  • provide an official letter from a host South African institution, department or laboratory and motivation from the applicant’s host;
  • meet the following requirements of the English Language Proficiency Academic test: IELTS 6.5 (no band less than 6.0); or TOEFL (paper) 575 (TWE 4.5); or TOEFL iBIT (min. 20); or Cambridge minimum 58,
  • present a detailed research project that must be registered and approved by the host institution and provide a letter of support from the prospective host supervisor;
  • be financially responsible for any accompanying family members.

TWAS-NRF African Renaissance Doctoral Programme:

  • be nationals or permanent residents from Africa (except South Africa);
  • must not hold any visa for temporary or permanent residency in South Africa or any developed country;
  • must be a maximum of 35 years of age by 31 December of the year of application;
  • must have obtained an MSc degree in a field of natural sciences;
  • provide evidence that s/he will return to her/his home country on completion of the fellowship;
  • not take up other assignments during the period of her/his fellowship;
  • provide an official letter from a host South African institution, department or laboratory and motivation from the applicant’s host;
  • meet the following requirements of the English Language Proficiency Academic test: IELTS 6.5 (no band less than 6.0); or TOEFL (paper) 575 (TWE 4.5); or TOEFL iBIT (min. 20); or Cambridge minimum 58,
  • present a detailed research project that must be registered and approved by the host institution and provide a letter of support from the prospective host supervisor;
  • be financially responsible for any accompanying family members.

Method of Application:  Applicants must contact institutions in South Africa or potential supervisors to obtain a placement into the doctoral research training programme. For details of recognized HEIs and other Public Research Institutions click here.

Applicants must apply for the NRF – TWAS Doctoral Fellowship/  TWAS-NRF African Renaissance Doctoral Call for 2018 by accessing the link: https://nrfsubmission.nrf.ac.za/ on the NRF Online application system.

Scholarship link

Scholarship Application Deadline: 15th June 2018