Critical Food Studies Postgraduate Scholarship 2026 Requirements & How to Apply

The Critical Food Studies Postgraduate scholarship opportunity supports Honours and Master’s level students with interdisciplinary humanities research focused on food, culture, society, meaning, identity, and representation.

About the Program

This scholarship is part of the Critical Food Studies: Transdisciplinary Humanities Approaches programme. 

The programme is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. 

It is jointly run by three South African universities—University of Western Cape (UWC), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and University of Pretoria (UP). 

It aims to build research capacity in humanities disciplines through mentoring, seminars, community-building, publications, and public engagement.

Fields of Study Funded

Scholarships are awarded to those doing research in areas such as:

1. How food is culturally experienced (taste, desire, appetites)
2. Representation, branding, marketing of food in commodity culture
3. Symbolic or imaginative representations of food, cuisine, “good food” and foodways in art, literature, performance, and visual culture
4. Urban foodscapes and food identity; food practices in relation to society, politics and cultural meanings

Benefits for Recipients

1. Financial support for Honours or Master’s studies in eligible fields.
2. Mentoring and academic support, including workshops, seminars, cohort learning, and possibly co-supervision.
3. Opportunity to contribute to publications, conferences, public engagement, and arts / visual / performance components of Critical Food Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants generally must:

1. Be a South African citizen or permanent resident.
2. Have completed a Bachelor’s degree if applying for Honours; have completed Honours if applying for a Master’s.
3. Be fully registered (or intending to register) for the relevant study year (Honours or Master’s) in the applicable discipline.
4. Be interested in interdisciplinary/humanities research using food as an analytic lens (i.e., “food studies” broadly construed).

How to Apply

1. There is no separate special application form in many past calls: you assemble the required documents and submit them (often via email) to the contact person (e.g., Prof Lebo Moletsane for UKZN).
2. Application documents should be compiled into a single PDF file.
3. Submit before the published deadline (often in March).

Required Documents

You will likely need:

1. Certified copy of your South African ID or proof of permanent residence.
2. Transcripts of all completed degrees (Bachelor’s, Honours).
3. Proof of registration (or conditional acceptance) for the upcoming Honours or Master’s year.
4. A research proposal or a motivation statement outlining your interest in Critical Food Studies, proposed topic, and alignment with the program.

Closing Date

As of now, there is no officially published closing date for the 2026 Critical Food Studies Scholarship from the core programme sources.

Contact Details

For queries, contact Prof Lebo Moletsane at UKZN. Also check the Critical Food Studies official website for updates.