SAMRC Postgraduate Research Associate Programme 2027

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) funds PhD and master’s students through its Postgraduate Research Associate Programme, placing each student with an SAMRC research unit, centre or platform where an SAMRC scientist supervises or co-supervises the degree. The request for applications for 2027 enrolment opened on 22 July 2026. Students originally had until 22 September; SAMRC moved that to 6 October 2026 at 23:59, and pushed the supervisors’ own submission back to 13 October 2026 at 23:59.

SAMRC states the programme’s aim plainly in its request for applications: to make South Africa’s health and clinical research workforce more representative by training more scientists from designated groups in fields where they are underrepresented, and to grow the number of PhD candidates from historically disadvantaged institutions. Candidates from designated groups get preference.

PhD and master’s awards for 2027

SAMRC funds only the prescribed length of the degree, counted from first registration, even if SAMRC paid nothing in the earlier years. A PhD student entering a third year in 2027 can therefore expect at most one funded year before the extension rules apply. The fourth PhD year, or second master’s year, needs a strong motivation from the host unit director and supervisor and proof of progress, and it is not automatic. Someone applying for a fourth PhD year must attach a completion plan, as a Gantt chart signed by student and supervisor. The funding page describes the award as covering tuition and a stipend but does not split the amount between them.

Fifteen preferred research fields

The call gives preference to projects in behavioural sciences, biostatistics, bioethics, bioinformatics, data science, digital health, demography, epidemiology, environmental public health, evolutionary virology, implementation and translational science, health economics, genomics, immunology and structural biology. The application form also asks which SAMRC priority area the project serves. Its ten options run from infectious disease, chronic non-communicable disease and antimicrobial resistance, through pandemic preparedness, genomics, climate and health, and AI in digital health, to health policy and systems, the health of mothers, children and teenagers, and behavioural research on how people take up health interventions.

Finding an SAMRC host before you apply

Being a strong student at a South African university is not enough on its own. Every applicant needs a researcher based in an SAMRC intramural unit, extramural unit, research centre or platform who commits to supervising and mentoring them for the whole degree, and a unit director who agrees in writing to host them. The host unit or supervisor must already have research funding and facilities for the project, confirmed in a one-page support letter signed by the unit director. On the application form, choosing “None” for the SAMRC supervisor ends the application as ineligible. The remaining conditions are South African citizenship or permanent residence and full-time study at a South African university.

Two submissions on RIMS, 6 and 13 October

Applications run through SAMRC’s Research and Innovation Management System (RIMS). External applicants and supervisors register on RIMS, while SAMRC staff log in with their existing accounts. The student completes the form and uploads everything by 6 October 2026. The SAMRC supervisor then receives a link to a commitment form, which asks for their publication record and supervision numbers, and submits the application by 13 October 2026. An application the supervisor has not submitted is incomplete. SAMRC recommends watching the pre-application workshop recording before starting.

The RFA’s checklist asks the student for:

• a cover letter of up to two pages, written by the applicant, on their suitability and how the award would shape their career;
• an abridged CV listing research outputs from the last seven years and all awards;
• a two-page abstract covering aims, design, methods, feasibility, data access and research translation;
• the main university supervisor’s two-page CV on SAMRC’s template;
• the unit director’s research support letter;
• an ID copy certified no more than six months before submission (the RFA specifies a Commissioner of Oaths);
• proof of 2026 registration, or an admission letter for first-time registration in 2027;
• the proposal approval letter (continuing master’s students may instead submit a supervisor’s letter approving the concept note, with a milestone timeline);
• ethics clearance, a letter showing the project is under ethics review, or a reason why ethics does not apply;
• for continuing students, an official letter giving the date of first registration.

The form also asks for an ORCID iD and the details of the department’s student finance administrator, who handles the invoices. For questions, phone Dr Lindokuhle Ndlandla on 021 938 0442 or email Lindokuhle.Ndlandla@mrc.ac.za. SAMRC contacts only successful candidates; anyone who has heard nothing by 31 December 2026 has not been selected.

Obligations of a research associate

A research associate must give at least 80% of their time to research, which leaves at most 20% for teaching or clinical work. Associates cannot combine the award with a second bursary from another state-funded statutory body. They need SAMRC’s agreement before taking any other bursary or pay that ties them to an employer, and they must declare every other award for the same degree. Changing university needs SAMRC approval, and SAMRC must be told of a change of supervisor. Each year’s renewal depends on progress reports from both student and supervisor, and the award cannot be deferred to 2028.

SAMRC’s shorter placements for graduates are covered on our SAMRC internship scholarship page. Other funding for this kind of study is gathered under data science and statistics bursaries and postgraduate bursaries.

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