SAMRC Clinician, Biostatistics and Vaccinology Scholarships

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

Master’s and doctoral students are funded by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) through the scholarships portfolio of its Research Capacity Development (RCD) Division. Three of those schemes are aimed at specific gaps in the health research workforce: doctors, dentists and nurses who want a PhD, students in biostatistics and other quantitative fields, and researchers in vaccinology. All three are run by the same RCD team, are open to South African citizens and permanent residents at South African universities, and are advertised as Requests for Applications (RFAs) on the SAMRC website. Each pays tuition fees and a stipend, but the amounts, entry rules and call dates differ.

PhD funding for doctors, dentists and nurses

The SAMRC Clinician Researcher Development Programme exists because South Africa has too few clinician-researchers. Its stated purpose is to build a group of highly trained clinician-scientists who will go into academic medicine, and to push universities to produce more of them. It is the most generous of the three schemes. According to the SAMRC scholarships funding page, the values are:

• full-time PhD candidates holding an MBChB or BChD: R600,000 a year, covering tuition fees and a stipend;
• part-time PhD candidates holding an MBChB, BChD or BNurs: up to R300,000 a year, covering tuition, research costs and funding for protected research time;
• full-time PhD candidates on an intercalated MBChB-PhD, or holding a BNurs: R250,000 a year for tuition fees and a stipend.

Applicants must be enrolled as PhD candidates at a South African university, hold a medicine, dentistry or nursing degree (MBChB, BChD or BNurs), and have project approval and, where the study needs it, ethics approval. The research must fit national and SAMRC research priorities. For equity and redress, the SAMRC gives preference to scholars from under-represented or previously under-funded groups and institutions. Its 2026 RFA calendar lists the programme for the 2027/2028 funding year, with the call opening and closing in September/October 2026 and awards made in April 2027. No call was open on 29 September 2026.

Biostatistics and quantitative health research

The Biostatistics Capacity Development Initiative funds master’s and PhD research where statistics, mathematics, biomedicine, computer science, data science, bioinformatics, epidemiology and health informatics meet. The SAMRC’s reason is the growing volume of biomedical data in sub-Saharan Africa and the shortage of local biostatisticians to analyse it. Master’s scholars receive R200,000 a year and PhD scholars R250,000, both for tuition and a stipend.

The last biostatistics RFA, for 2026 enrolment, opened on 7 November 2025 and closed on 15 January 2026 after an extension from 15 December 2025. That call set out the terms in detail:

• a PhD is funded for three years, with a fourth only on a compelling motivation from the supervisor; a master’s for one year plus one on motivation;
• supported programmes ranged from applied statistics and mathematical modelling to machine learning, computational biology, bioinformatics, epidemiology and health informatics;
• applicants needed a strong background in statistics, mathematics or a related quantitative field, a research concept note aligned with SAMRC priorities, and a master’s (for PhD applicants) or an honours or four-year degree (for master’s applicants) already completed;
• applications went through the SAMRC’s REDCap system, and the supervisor had to complete a commitment form online, without which the application was not considered.

The 2026 RFA calendar puts the next biostatistics call, for the 2027/2028 funding year, as opening in October 2026 and closing in January 2027, with awards in April 2027. The SAMRC notes that calendar dates may change.

Vaccinology scholarships with the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation

The Specialised Training in Vaccinology scholarships are funded through a partnership between the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation and the SAMRC, and are run with South African universities and research centres that specialise in vaccinology. The focus is on early-career researchers in vaccine discovery, development and manufacturing, vaccine implementation, vaccine policy and administration, and the clinical epidemiology of vaccines. The SAMRC lists eligible research areas that go well beyond medicine, including chemical and process engineering, molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, virology, structural biology, bioinformatics, immunology, synthetic and analytical chemistry, and industrial pharmacy. Every funded project must relate to vaccine research and development.

PhD scholars receive R250,000 a year and master’s scholars R200,000, plus research costs up to a set maximum; a full proposal endorsed by the principal investigator is needed where research funds are requested. This is the only one of the three schemes that may consider citizens of other African countries, subject to the funder’s requirements. Part-time students on specialised vaccinology master’s programmes, such as Wits ALIVE or the UWC MSc in Pharmacy Administration and Policy Regulation, need at least one year of work experience, and their scholarship value may vary by programme. The vaccinology scheme does not appear on the 2026 RFA calendar, so no call dates are published.

Rules the SAMRC applies across its scholarship calls

The scholarships FAQ covers points that apply to all three schemes. There is no age limit. A typical application includes a motivation, an abstract of the research proposal, the main supervisor’s track record, a letter from the host department or SAMRC unit confirming research facilities, a certified ID copy, proof of registration, the approved proposal and any ethics approval. PhD candidates cannot apply before registering; master’s candidates in scarce-skills fields may apply with a provisional acceptance letter. Applicants may use AI tools or take advice if they acknowledge it, but may not have someone else edit the application. A student who already holds a scholarship can apply for more only if it is declared, does not come from another government entity, and the combined amount stays within the programme cap.

The RCD postgraduate programme manager, Dr Lindokuhle Ndlandla, handles questions on these schemes by phone (021 938 0442) and email (Lindokuhle.Ndlandla@mrc.ac.za). Open calls are posted on the SAMRC Requests for Applications page. For health research degrees funded by others, see the site’s health science bursaries, medicine bursaries, data science bursaries and postgraduate bursaries pages.

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