SALT-SAAO Scholarship South Africa 2024

The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the country’s leading astronomy research institute and home to the Southern African Large Telescope- the biggest optical telescope within the southern hemisphere. SAAO was founded in 1820 and is the national centre for infrared and optical astronomy in the country. The main role of SAAO is to ensure fundamental research in astrophysics and astronomy is successfully conducted by providing first-class facilities to young scientists. SAAO also continues to promote both astrophysics and astronomy within the country and it does this by participating in outreach activities (aimed to get the citizens excited about the fields) and sharing their many discoveries and findings. The SAAO is part of the National Research Foundation, operating within the South African Department of Science and Innovation. The SAAO headquarters are based in Observatory, Cape Town and Sutherland within the Northern Cape where SAAO has a number of research and observation stations as well as many working telescopes that include SALT.

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): Preference will be given to South African citizens and permanent residents in South Africa, however students of ANY nationality are welcome to applyYou must be eligible to register to study towards a MSc or PhD degree in Astrophysics, starting in 2024You must be eligible to study a university in South African universityYou must have a background in astrophysicsMSc candidates: you must have completed a BSc Honours degree or an equivalent degreePhD candidates: you must have completed a MSc degree or have approval to upgrade to a PhDYou must be able to complete your studies in the minimum time frame (2 years for MSc and 3 years for PhD)You must apply for a particular project, and must have discussed your application with your supervisor before applying

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Students who meet the eligibility criteria, can apply by submitting clear copies of the following documentation (the submission of these documents is compulsory – if any items are missing, your application may be disqualified): Cover letterCurriculum VitaeAcademic transcripts Applications must be submitted via email to:scholarship@saao.ac.za(Insert the following in the email subject line: “your surname, the surname of the supervisor of the project you are applying for, and the level (MSc or PhD) at which you are applying”). Please note: there is no application form to be completed for this bursary application – students need only submit the list of above documents to apply.the documents above must be compiled into 1 single pdf document.2 referees must submit their reference letters directly to the SAAO, via the email address above, by the due date and the email subject line should state the applicants name.