In this annual cycle of MSc and PhD research opportunities, academic staff at the Department of Astronomy at UCT, often in collaboration with astronomers at the South African Astronomical Observatory, offer the following MSc and PhD projects for 2023. These are listed below separated by three different funding opportunities available to students:

  • SARAO Group Grant at UCT Astronomy
  • SARChI funding at UCT Astronomy
  • General NRF scholarship for projects at UCT Astronomy

Projects offered in 2023 via the SARAO Group Grant at UCT Astronomy

MSc

PhD

Projects offered in 2023 via the South African Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) at UCT Astronomy

MSc

PhD

Projects offered in 2023 via the General Scholarships of the National Research Foundation

MSc

PhD

A number of the MSc and PhD projects offered under the General Scholarships of the National Research Foundation  could be based at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), as a number of our academic staff have joint affiliations at UCT Astronomy and the SAAO. For a full list of projects offered at the SAAO, please see the SAAO web site.

Application process

If you are interested in any of the projects listed above, please do the following:

  • contact the academic staff member of the project you are interested in and send them a copy of your CV;
  • discuss the research with them to determine if you have the required qualifications, skills and abilities to undertake the project. You may contact as many potential supervisors as you like;
  • if the academic staff member agrees to supervise you, discuss details about registration and funding.

Postgraduate funding

All of the postgraduate research projects listed above are funded by scholarships from the National Research Foundation (NRF). For details, see the 2023 Scholarships and Fellowship application documents.

Note that the internal deadline for all applications through the University of Cape Town for NRF 2023 MSc and PhD scholarships is in line with the NRF deadline: 08 July 2022. Completing the NRF application will take time, and requires various documents and letters. It is essential that you complete your discussions with your potential supervisor(s) well before the deadline.

If you require NRF funding, you must ensure that you qualify for NRF support as this is the primary mechanism we have to provide you with a bursary. Once you have applied for NRF funding, send your application number to your prospective academic supervisor.

The lists of projects offered for 2023 also include a number of SARAO-approved projects, eligible for SARAO scholarships. These include the projects listed under the SARAO Group Grant, and those offered by the SARAO SARChI chair, Prof Pisano.

Applications need to be made through the NRF application portal, Please note that this is a different system with respect to the one used in previous years, so some time will be needed for you to register in the new system. Students should start the process ahead of the deadline.

Please note that no applications submitted through the NRF portal without an agreement with the prospect supervisor will be accepted. Please make contact with the prospect supervisor beforehand and ahead of the deadline.

Postgraduate registration

Details of the registration process at UCT can be found on the Faculty of Science web page.