South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) PhD Scholarship 2020 for African Students

The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) invites applications for the SAAO Prize PhD Scholarship from academically excellent students who wish to pursue PhD studies in optical or multi-wavelength astrophysics.

SAAO PhD Scholarship

The SAAO Prize Scholarship is a prestigious annually awarded scholarship offered to a top African student to work on a PhD project supervised by researchers at the SAAO. The scholarship is for a 3-year PhD registered at a South African university and the student will be required to spend a minimum of 60% of their time at the SAAO. The scholarship will cover tuition and a generous stipend for living expenses. Additional support for conference travel and equipment will be provided.

SAAO PhD Scholarship Eligibility

The scholarship is currently open to South Africans or citizens of other African countries who hold, or are studying towards, an MSc degree in physics, astrophysics, or a closely related area (ideally with some astronomy background), and must be ready to register for a PhD at the start of the 2020 academic year (typically the end of February 2020).

Selection Criteria: The selection criteria will be academic merit, motivation, aptitude for research, transformation
considerations, and results of the interview.

Value of Scholarship

Stipend of R180,000 per year (tuition fees will be covered by SAAO and additional support for travel and equipment will be made available).

How to Apply for SAAO PhD Scholarship

Send your CV, motivation, academic transcript to scholarship@saao.ac.za and arrange for 2 reference letters to be sent to the same address by the closing date.

For more information, visit the SAAO PhD Scholarship.

Application Deadline: 31st July 2019