DSTI-HSRC Internship Programme for Graduates

Written by Thabo MokoenaSenior Education Editor

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

The DSTI-HSRC Internship Programme gives unemployed graduates two years of paid work in research settings: universities, science councils, research institutes, non-profit organisations and companies. The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) funds it and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) runs recruitment, contracts and stipends. In 2025 the programme marked 20 years since the DSTI started it, and the HSRC reports that it has contracted 7,531 interns, 322 of whom were later appointed permanently by their host institutions.

The HSRC recruits in cohorts. The current group was selected through a call that opened on 18 February 2025 and closed on 17 March 2025, and those interns are contracted from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2027. The previous cohort ran from 2023 to 2025. No call for a 2027 intake had been published on the HSRC site or its internship portal by the end of September 2026.

Stipends by qualification for 24 months

Interns sign a fixed 24-month contract and receive a monthly stipend set by their highest qualification. These were the rates in the 2025/27 call:

The HSRC does not pay relocation costs. Host institutions are spread across all provinces, and the call told applicants to choose posts in their home province where possible because living away from home can eat up a stipend of this size.

Who the HSRC accepts and who it turns away

Applicants must be South African citizens or permanent residents with a valid South African ID, unemployed, and 35 or younger when appointed. They need a completed qualification at NQF level 7, 8 or 9 in science, engineering and technology, the humanities and social sciences, or a research, development and innovation field. Graduates with disabilities are especially encouraged, and the HSRC says reasonable disability support can be arranged on request.

The call ruled out:

• diplomas below NQF level 7 and PhD holders;
• anyone who would be a full-time student, and registered doctoral candidates;
• holders of DSTI-funded scholarships or bursaries during the internship;
• former DSTI-NRF, DSTI-HSRC or NSF-HSRC interns;
• current National Youth Service participants.

Seven broad discipline groups

The 2025/27 call listed several hundred specialisations grouped under sciences; information sciences; engineering and technology; humanities and social sciences; economic and management sciences; and law, with communications named as a current area on the HSRC programme page. The range runs from astrophysics, epidemiology and agricultural economics to software engineering, quantity surveying, criminology, auditing, supply chain management and labour law. Applicants could choose one discipline per province, up to three provinces in order of preference.

The online system and interviews by host mentors

Applications are made only on the HSRC Internship Application and Recruitment System. Applicants create an intern account, complete their profile, and then open an application under the applications menu. The 2025 call asked for certified copies of certificates, certified academic records or a letter of completion, and a certified copy of the ID. Late applications were not considered.

Mentors at the host institutions, not the HSRC, shortlist and interview candidates, contacting them by the personal email address given in the application. In 2025 interviews ran from 27 March to 15 April, and applicants who had heard nothing by 30 April were told to treat their application as unsuccessful. The host then recommends its choice to the HSRC, which verifies documents and issues the contract through the portal.

Queries go to DSI_HSRC_Internship.queries@hsrc.ac.za, weekdays 08:00 to 16:30. Because DSTI bursary holders cannot be interns at the same time, graduates choosing between further study and a placement can compare this programme with the DSI-NRF Postgraduate Scholarship. The SAMRC internship scholarship is another research-based option, and national and provincial department internships are tracked on our government internships page.

FAQs