The South African Reserve Bank (SARB)  Master’s in Data Science and Machine Learning Scholarship 2026. – Scholarship Opportunities

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Application Deadline: 31 October 2025.

Applications are now open for the 2026 South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Master’s in Data Science and Machine Learning Scholarship. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is inviting prospective Master’s degree in Data Science and Machine Learning students to apply for a full scholarship for the 2026 academic year.

The SARB serves the economic well-being of all South Africans through maintaining price stability and financial stability. It is responsible for regulating the South African financial sector, designing and distributing banknotes and coin, managing interest rates, setting the cash reserve requirement for banks, and ensuring the stability of both the banking sector and the wider financial system.

The SARB, in collaboration with the Data Science Academic Committee of the National Graduate Academy for Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (NGA(MaSS)), hereby invites prospective Master’s degree students to apply for competitive SARB bursaries in the fields of data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence, with specific reference to financial analytics.

Eligibility Requirements

For students to be considered for the scholarship, they must meet the
following requirements:

• have provisional acceptance into one of the identified Master’s programmes;
• have selected modules that should include financial analytics topics;
• have a relevant Honours degree with an average of at least a 65% overall pass mark;
• be a full-time student;
• be a South African citizen; and
• be younger than 35 years of age.

  As part of the acceptance criteria of the scholarship, students might be expected to attend specific workshops, as required by the SARB and the NGA(MaSS).

How to apply

• The closing date for the submission of applications is Friday, 31 October 2025.
• Late applications will not be considered.
• Examination results, proof of acceptance at a recognised institution (a student number) and any other supporting documents must be submitted with the application.
• Use PROMO CODE: SARBDSM26

Submission of examination results by bursary holders

• Bursary holders will be required to submit their examination results before Wednesday, 31 December 2025, regardless of whether they will be awarded a bursary for the following year or not

  Scholarship agreement

• Potential external bursars will be required to avail themselves for interviews.
• Successful applicant(s) for the scholarship will be expected to sign an agreement with the SARB.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the SARB Master’s in Data Science and Machine Learning Scholarship