THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL FUNDING REVIEW PROCESS NRF Postgraduate … Postgradu… · 3 1 Introduction This document provides an overview of the terms of reference for the review and

1

THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL FUNDING REVIEW PROCESS

NRF Postgraduate Scholarships

Website: www.uj.ac.za/postgraduate-school

Office: Akanya Building, Auckland Park Kingsway Campus

2

Contents 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3

2 Duties and Responsibilities ............................................................................................................. 3

2.1 The Postgraduate School (PGS) Duties ......................................................................................... 3

2.2 The Faculty Review Committees/Research Chairs/Centres of Excellence ................................... 4

3 Funding modalities ......................................................................................................................... 4

4 Eligibility criteria and Process Outline ............................................................................................. 5

4.1 Honours Review Scorecard (No scoring required from faculty) ................................................... 6

4.2 Masters Review Scorecard ........................................................................................................... 6

4.3 Doctoral Review Scorecard ...........................................................................................................7

4.4 Masters and Doctoral Extension Support Review Scorecard........................................................ 8

5 Equity and Redress.......................................................................................................................... 8

6 Contact Information ....................................................................................................................... 9

3

1 Introduction

This document provides an overview of the terms of reference for the review and scoring of the NRF

Postgraduate Scholarships funding. The funding instruments include honours, master’s and doctoral

applications for the 2021 academic year. The document will assist faculties’ review committees with

detailed information to assess and score eligible applications for submission to the NRF on time. The

process is intended to support the improvement of submissions such that overall the institution’s

applications meet the requisite standard.

NB: Faculty review committees will only need to score selected sections for master’s and doctoral

applications. Honours applications will be scored by the Postgraduate School.

2 Duties and Responsibilities

In ensuring a fair and constructive internal review process, the Postgraduate School assumes the

following duties and responsibilities:

2.1 The Postgraduate School (PGS) Duties

PGS will:

(i) facilitate the timeous dissemination of information from the NRF to potential applicants, thus

enhancing the possibilities for the institutions to leverage funding in order to conduct research. This

includes:

• Calls for funding applications

• Internal deadlines

(ii)liaise with vice deans research of the reviewing committees (Research Chair holders, CoE’s ) on

specific timelines and points of clarification.

(iii) act as gatekeepers of quality applications to the NRF and safeguard the reputation of the

institution in accessing funding.

(iv) be the first point of contact when researchers experience problems with the NRF system and

have funding instrument queries.

(v) pre-review student applications for completeness and eligibility checks.

(vi) compile a list of student meeting minimum eligibility criteria. PGS will store and distribute all

eligible applications through Dropbox for faculties’ (Research Chair holders, CoE’s) review

committee.

(vii) compile the faculty review committee’s feedback.

(viii) approve applications endorsed by the review committees to the NRF submission system.

(ix) provide feedback to unsuccessful candidates based on scores from the review committee.

4

2.2 The Faculty Review Committees/Research Chairs/Centres of Excellence, etc assume the

following duties and responsibilities:

(i) Form and convene an internal review committee.

(ii) Complete scoring as per templates provided by the PGS.

(iii) Ensure that all comments are captured on the scoring sheet per application.

(iv) Ensure that scores and comments are balanced, constructive and consistent.

Keep record of minutes of the review committee, signed-off by the chairperson and

including the names of the panel members.

(v) Ensure that the final scores and comments are submitted to the PGS by deadline.

3 Funding modalities

Funding instruments include the list below, and each modality has specific eligibility

levelrequirements, scoring criteria and application processes.

•NRF Extension Support for master’s and doctoral studies

• First-time NRF Doctoral Scholarships/ NRF-Nuffic Doctoral Scholarships (Split-site) (Including SARAO

Doctoral Scholarships).

• First-time master’s scholarships (Including SARAO Masters Scholarships).

• Honours scholarships/SARAO Honours Scholarships.

Please consult the Funding Framework and Application Guide for more information. These documents

can be accessed at https://www.nrf.ac.za/funding/framework-documents.

The table below indicates the NRF funding instruments and the University of Johannesburg’s internal

closing dates:

Category Funding Opportunity Funding

Year

Call

Open

Date

Funding

Decision

Outcom

es

UJ Internal Closing Date

NRF Postgraduate Scholarships

Extension support for master’s

and doctoral studies 2021 08 Apr 20 Oct 20 20 July 2020

First-time doctoral scholarships (including SARAO Doctoral Scholarships)

2021 08 Apr 20 Nov 20 22 June 2020

First-time master’s scholarships

(including SARAO Master’s Scholarships)

2021 08 Apr 20 Nov 20 22 June 2020

Honours scholarships 2021 08 Apr 20 Jan 21 31 October 2020

SARAO Honours Scholarships 2021 08 Apr 20 Nov 20 05 August 2020

NRF-Nuffic Doctoral Scholarships (Split-site) 2021 08 Apr 20 Nov 20 22 June 2020

5

4 Eligibility criteria and Process Outline

The eligibility criteria for funding at Full Cost of Study (FCS) and Partial Cost of Study (PCS) listed in

Table below apply to all first-time applicants for honours, master’s and doctoral funding. The FCS

funding will be awarded to South African citizens and permanent residents only, who are either

financially needy, living with a disability or exceptional academic achievers. However, the PCS funding

will be awarded to South African citizens, permanent residents and 5% of international students.

The Postgraduate School will pre-screen applications as per the set requirements formulated by the

NRF, using the criteria below:

6

4.1 Honours Review Scorecard (No scoring required from faculty)

Review Criteria and Weighting Description

1. Academic merit (40%) Average percentage mark for major subjects in the

final-year undergraduate courses.

2. Completion time for undergraduate

degree (40%) Time taken to complete the undergraduate degree.

3. Priority Research Area (20%) Research aligned with one of the NRF listed

research priority areas.

4.2 Masters Review Scorecard

The Faculty must provide assistance in assessment and scoring of Project Outline on the table below:

7

4.3 Doctoral Review Scorecard

The faculty must provide assistance in assessment and scoring of Track record/Research Outputs,

Originality of the Doctoral study and Potential Impact of the research on the table below:

8

4.4 Masters and Doctoral Extension Support Review Scorecard

The faculty must provide assistance in assessment and scoring of Progress to date, Reasons why the

study could not be completed in the NRF maximum funding period, and Work plan to complete the

degree within the indicated timeframes on the table below:

5 Equity and Redress

The NRF applies measures for enhancing equity, fairness, and justice in accordance with the South

African Constitution. The NRF adheres to the Immigration Act of 2002 which states that the holder of

a permanent resident permit "has all the rights, privileges, duties and obligations of a citizen, save for

those rights, privileges, duties and obligations which a law or the Constitution explicitly ascribes to

citizenship". Additionally, the NRF adheres and supports the SADC protocol on education and training

requiring member states to reserve at least 5% of admissions for students from South African

Development Community (SADC) nations other than their own, treating these as home students for

purposes of tuition and accommodation.

In line with the national imperative of enhancing equity of postgraduate student access, success and

throughput using funding, all postgraduate funding must prioritise support for appropriately qualified

applicants from designated groups viz. black, female and persons with disabilities, while ensuring that

only applications that meet the merit review and selection criteria are supported. Additionally, the

NRF will prioritise applicants’ who are financially needy, as well as academically capable and previously

funded by the NSFAS, NRF and/or ISFAP.

All NRF postgraduate funding will be allocated as follows:

• 95% to South African citizens and permanent residents;

• 5% to students from the SADC countries and the rest of the world; and

• 55% to women.

9

The South African Citizens and permanent residents’ targets are further disaggregated in terms of

race and disability as follows:

• 90% Black (African, Coloured, and Indian);

• 10% White; and

• 1% Students living with a disability.

6 Contact Information

For further information, please contact the below personnel:

Mr Tshediso Msibi

[email protected]

0115593780 Mr

Thabiso Masango

[email protected]

0115593287

Ms Charlotte Motinyane [email protected]

0115594530

Postgraduate School

Website: www.uj.ac.za/postgraduate-school

Office: Akanya Building, Auckland Park Kingsway Campus