The Faculty Research Committee together with EXCO are pleased to announce the following Postgraduate Degree Completion Grant and various Research Grant opportunities for research active staff in the Science Faculty.
Start-Up Grants
This grant is intended to support new staff with short-term research-related expenses, including computers, conference participation, student support, and related costs.
| Eligibility: | New permanent and T2 (3 year) appointments from last quarter 2025 |
| Amount: | R 75 000 (once off) |
| Process: | HOD to inform Faculty Finance of new appointments. |
Launching Grants
This grant has been re-scoped to support research projects of up to 3 years. Projects will be supported on a competitive basis responding to an annual call
| Eligibility: | New permanent staff are eligible to apply within the first 2 years of their appointment. |
| Amount: | ~ R 200 000 The exact number of grants and the amount will be determined annually based on available funds. |
| Process: | Application in response to annual call (3rd quarter). |
PPI Grants
The Postgraduate Publication Incentive Grant is aimed at postgraduate students (Honours, Masters and PhDs) to support the publication of their research in a DHET accredited journal.
| Eligibility: | Postgraduate students registered in the Science Faculty, whose theses and dissertations are still under examination. |
| Amount: | R 5000 (support for 1 month for 1 paper) |
| Process: | Application to the Science Faculty Research Committee. |
| Download application form | |
Dean’s Discretionary Research Grants
This new grant is intended to bridge research-related costs (broadly defined). At this stage, this is only available for 2026.
| Eligibility: | All research active staff, on a needs-basis. Where categories of research funding align with URC internal grants, applicants are required to apply to the URC in the first instance. Priority will be given to applications that are likely to have been considered positively by external funders like NRF if appropriate funding instruments were available. Current NRF grant holders are not eligible to apply. |
| Amount: | Upper limit of R 50 000 |
| Process: | Motivations for funding to be prepared by applicants, supported by HODs, and submitted by HODs to EXCO for approval. Where applicable, proof of application to the URC and outcome to be included. |
| Download application form | |
Dean’s Discretionary Postgraduate Degree Completion Grant
This once-off grant is intended to support Faculty of Science Master’s and PhD students in good academic standing who are approaching completion of their degrees and are in need of funding. It is specifically intended to support students who have exceeded the typical duration of their degree programme, yet are demonstrably close to thesis submission.
| Eligibility: | All (local and international) Master’s (research and coursework) and PhD students who require 1 to 6 months of funding to complete their degree. The student’s supervisor and Head of Department (HoD) must confirm that submission within this timeframe is feasible. |
| Amount: | Registration fees plus a monthly stipend of R10,000; up to a maximum of R90,000 |
| Process: | Applications will be considered on an ad hoc basis. The application form should be completed by the student in consultation with their supervisor. In particular, the motivation for funding, proposed timeline, and anticipated submission date must be agreed upon. The supervisor is then required to provide confidential comments on the application (not shared with the student) and to forward the completed form to the HoD. The HoD should likewise provide confidential comments, then submit the application to EXCO for consideration. This process is intended to ensure that the proposed timeline to completion is feasible and that the requested funding is justified. If the application is successful, the student should acknowledge funding from the Faculty of Science in their submitted thesis and related publication(s). |
| Download application form | |