Apply for the South African Reserve Bank Scholarship 2026: The South African Reserve Bank (SARB), in collaboration with the Data Science Academic Committee of the National Graduate Academy for Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (NGA(MaSS)), is inviting students to apply for their scholarship programme, for the 2026 academic year.
The scholarship is for Master’s degrees, specialising in Data Science and Machine Learning, with specific reference to financial analytics.
Scholarships will be awarded for the following postgraduate qualifications, at the following institutions:
- Master’s degree (Analytics or Data Science) at the University of Cape Town (read more here)
- MComm (Advanced Data Analytics) at the University of Pretoria (read more here)
- MComm (Financial Risk Management) at Stellenbosch University (read more here)
- MIT (Big Data Science) at the University of Pretoria (read more here)
- MSc (Business, Mathematics and Informatics) at North-West University (read more here)
- MSc (Data Science) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (read more here)
- MSc (eScience) at the University of the Witwatersrand, University of Pretoria, North-West University, University of Venda, University of Limpopo and Sol Plaatje University (read more here)
- MSc (Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence) at Stellenbosch University (read more here)
- MSc (Statistical Science with specialisation in Data Science) (in collaboration with North-West University Centre for Business, Mathematics and Informatics® (BMI) at the University of the Western Cape (read more here)
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About the South African Reserve Bank Scholarship 2026
Shortlisted applicants will be contacted and required to attend an interview before being awarded a scholarship.
Scholars may be required to attend workshops during their studies, as required by the SARB and the NGA(MaSS).
Scholarship recipients will be required to submit their final examination results by no later than 31 December 2025.
Eligibility
Applicants must satisfy the following minimum entry criteria before applying (please note that failure to satisfy all the requirements will lead to your application not being considered):
- You must be a South African citizen
- You must be under the age of 35 years old
- You must have completed a relevant Honours degree with a minimum overall average of 65%
- You must have received provisional acceptance into one of the full-time Master’s programmes listed above, at one of the universities listed above
- You must have selected modules that include financial analytics topics
How to Apply for this Scholarship
Applications must be submitted online at: SARB Masters Scholarship Application 2026
Applicants must use the following promotional code: SARBDSM26
Submit clear copies of the following supporting documentation along with your application (the submission of these documents is compulsory – if any items are missing, your application may be disqualified):
- ID document (certified copy)
- Most recent exam results (on institutions letterhead)
- Honours degree certificate/ statement of results (on institutions letterhead)
- Proof of acceptance at one of the approved universities (with your student number) (on institutions letterhead)
Closing date for applications
This SARB Scholarship applications closes on 31 October 2025. Apply on time to avoid being left out.
