Stellenbosch GEM Scholarship 2027: How to Apply

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The Graduate School of Economic and Management Sciences (GEM) is the doctoral school of Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Its flagship GEM Elite Scholarships fund a small cohort of full-time PhD candidates each year at R200 000 a year, with structured skills development and close progress monitoring, to produce the next generation of academics in economics, management and finance.

About the GEM Elite Scholarships

• Value: R200 000 a year for three years.
• Cohort: six PhD candidates per intake.
• Mode: full-time, residential doctoral study at Stellenbosch University.
• Support: cohort-based skills development, seminars and a streamlined progress-monitoring platform shared with supervisors.

Any PhD in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences qualifies: economics, business management, accounting, finance, industrial psychology, statistics and actuarial science, public management, logistics and related fields.

GEM Scholarship eligibility requirements

• A Master’s degree in economic and management sciences, or a closely related field, passed with at least 65%.
• Accepted, or applying, for a full-time PhD in the faculty, with a department and supervisor willing to support the research.
• A strong academic record, a promising research proposal and evidence of leadership potential.
• Willing to study full-time in Stellenbosch for three years.

How to apply for the GEM Scholarship

1. Apply for admission to the PhD through Stellenbosch University’s postgraduate application system and secure a supervisor.
2. Email your CV, certified academic transcripts, research proposal and motivation letter to GEM@sun.ac.za with the subject line “GEM Scholarship Application”.
3. Ask three academic referees to send confidential letters directly to the same address before the closing date.
4. Shortlisted candidates are interviewed by the GEM selection panel.

GEM Scholarship closing date

Past calls closed in mid-August for the following year. No 2027 closing date has been published.

Contact details

• Email: GEM@sun.ac.za
• Website: su.ac.za/en/faculties/economy/gem

Doctoral candidates in these fields should also apply to the NRF and to Stellenbosch’s Postgraduate Funding Office. See our postgraduate bursaries list.

FAQs

About Stellenbosch University

Public university (research-intensive)

Stellenbosch University (SU) is a public research-intensive university in the town of Stellenbosch in the Cape Winelands. Stellenbosch grew from the Stellenbosch Gymnasium and Victoria College, and received full university status in 1918. Its students are widely known…

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