Call for Applications:

Master’s Scholarships
Deadline: Tuesday, 18 June 2024

The South African Research Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma invites applications for scholarships funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) to pursue full time Masters research at Stellenbosch University. In the first phase of the application process, the SARChI Chair and Stellenbosch University research team will be responsible for shortlisting candidates and the NRF will make the final decision in the second stage of the process. Shortlisted candidates will be assisted with submitting their applications on the NRF Online Submission System.

Successful applicants will be provided with funds to support study-related costs, such as research workshops, fieldwork support and conference attendance. The SARChI Chair works with an interdisciplinary team of senior researchers with extensive research and supervision experience with the following interest areas that students may choose as research topics or related areas of interest:

  1. Legacies of slavery and other violent histories, and/or reparative strategies (or “healing” and transformation) of these legacies. 
    • Transformative encounters at institutions of higher learning.
    • How are violent histories remembered and represented?
    • How do contemporary artists address violent histories in their work and how does visual culture affect the transgenerational transmission of violent histories?
    • How do museums and other forms of commemorative sites of memory shape collective memory of violent histories? What are some of the fault lines of these strategies?
  1. Gender violence and disrupting patriarchy. 
    • Patriarchal violence/ gender violence at the intersections of race, class, sexuality, and other social sites of oppression.

The following are eligibility criteria for shortlisting candidates:  

  • Master’s applicants must have an Honours degree in Humanities/Social Sciences with a minimum aggregate mark of at least 65%;
  • Demonstrable knowledge of qualitative research methods will be ascribed high importance.
  • A key criterion for selection of students will be the fit between their interests and abilities and the focus of the SARChI Chair programme or the specific topics listed above.

Application Procedure:

Submit your application via email to Dr. Samantha van Schalkwyk [samanthavs@sun.ac.za] with the following information:

  • A cover letter explaining why you are interested in the scholarship.
  • A draft research proposal of no longer than 8 pages, 1.5-spaced, including a reference list of no more than a page long.
  • A copy of your Honours thesis.
  • Your CV, indicating your date of birth, year you completed your Honours degree, and the names of two contactable academic referees.
  • Copies of all official academic records (certified copies).
  • Certified copy of Identity document.

Email enquiries for more information about the scholarships may be sent to Dr. Samantha van Schalkwyk at samanthavs@sun.ac.za with the following subject title written in capital letters: MASTER’S SCHOLARSHIP ENQUIRY 2025.

Closing Date: Tuesday, 18 June 2024