National Health Research Enterprise Doctoral Programme — PhD Scholarships for Health Science Research
New SAMRC National Health Research Enterprise doctoral scholarship supporting full-time PhD health-science research in South Africa.
Opportunity Passport
At a glance
- RO ID
- RO-2026-006878
- Type
- Scholarship
- Level / stage
- PhD / Doctoral
- Host
- South Africa · South African university
- Organisation
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)
- Applicant geography
- Applicants from South Africa
- Funding
- Funding available
- Stipend
- ZAR 250,000 per year
- Last deadline
- September 22, 2026, 23:59 (Africa/Johannesburg)
- Last checked
- August 26, 2026
Opportunity overview
The NHRE Doctoral Programme strengthens health-research capacity in South Africa and encourages innovative health-science projects, including cross-cutting digital health, AI and genomics.
Funding
- Funding coverage
- Funding available
- Financial model
- Stipend
- Stipend
- ZAR 250,000 per year
- Duration
- 3 years plus a possible fourth year on compelling motivation and demonstrated progress.
- Stipend: Yes
Eligibility
South African citizen/permanent resident with a Master's degree, endorsed health-science PhD project, full-time South African university registration and committed supervisor.
- Applicant geography
- Applicants from South Africa
- Minimum degree
- Master's degree.
- Affiliation
- Must have a supervisor- and institution-endorsed PhD project and be registered full-time at a South African university at commencement; supervisor must have research funding and facilities.
Discovery-new; opened 28 July 2026 and remains actionable.
Programme details
- Funder / sponsor
- South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)|National Treasury / National Department of Health|Gates Foundation|Wellcome
- Host organisation
- South African university
- Host country
- South Africa
- Disciplines
- Health & Medical Sciences
Application
- Method
- Online portal
Required documents
- Online application
- Required supporting documents in the official RFA checklist
- Supervisor track record and commitment form
Applicant completes the online application and uploads documents by 22 September; supervisor submits the commitment stage by 29 September 2026.
Deadlines
- Application deadlineSeptember 22, 2026, 23:59 (Africa/Johannesburg)Applicant closing date 22 September 2026 at 23:59; supervisor submission deadline 29 September 2026 at 23:59.
Sources and verification
Verification status: Verified. Last checked: August 26, 2026.
- National Health Research Enterprise Doctoral Programme — PhD Scholarships for Health Science ResearchOfficial source · checked August 26, 2026
