DSTI-NRF Honours Student Funding for the 2027 Academic Year
National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), South Africa
Who can apply: South African citizens and permanent residents only. The call states the honours scholarship “is available for South African citizens and Permanent Residents only”, so an international applicant cannot use it. You also need an average of 65% for your major subjects in the final year of your undergraduate degree, and… What is funded: Scholarships for a South African honours year (the one-year postgraduate degree taken after a bachelor’s). Successful applicants are funded at either Full Cost of Study or Partial Cost of Study. Full Cost of Study goes to students who are financially needy (combined household income of R350 000 per annum or less)… Deadline: 23 November 2026 (applicant closing date). Applicants who need an ISFAP assessment must submit by 14 August 2026.. The funder does not state a timezone for this deadline, so check the official page for the exact cut-off time. Round: 2027 academic year.
Read the full call and apply on the official page: National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), South Africa, official page.
Who can apply
- South African citizens and permanent residents only. The call states the honours scholarship "is available for South African citizens and Permanent Residents only", so an international applicant cannot use it. You also need an average of 65% for your major subjects in the final year of your undergraduate degree, and you must apply yourself on the NRF Connect system; manual applications are not accepted. Full Cost of Study is reserved for applicants who are financially needy, exceptional academic achievers or living with a disability.
Stage dates
Applicant closing date. Applications are made only on the NRF Connect system at https://nrfconnect.nrf.ac.za/. The call states that manual applications will not be accepted.23 November 2026
Earlier sub-deadline for applicants who require an ISFAP financial-needs assessment. Note the conflict on NRF's own site: the Honours call page (28 July 2026) prints 14 August 2026 for this step, while the older postgraduate funding page (20 April 2026) prints 24 August 2026. Treat the Honours call page as current and confirm with your university's research office.14 August 2026
Designated Authority (your university) closing date to submit to the NRF; ISFAP-assessed applications 02 September 2026. This is the institution's step, not yours.29 January 2027
Dates come from the funder's page for this round. When a round closes, the next round's dates replace these once the funder publishes them.