The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Master’s in Data Science and Machine Learning Scholarship 2027 for young South Africans.

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Application Deadline: 31 October 2026.

Applications are now open for the 2027 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 2027 academic year with specific reference to financial analytics.

Scholarship Purpose

• The SARB, as part of addressing the severe shortage of skills in South Africa, provides scholarships and bursaries to students in relevant fields of study who are from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• In support of the corporate social initiatives of the SARB and its External Bursary Scheme, a number of external scholarships and bursaries are made available annually to qualifying prospective postgraduate students.
• 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.

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 Saturday, 31 October 2026.
• 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: SARBDSM27

Submission of examination results by bursary holders

• Bursary holders will be required to submit their examination results before Thursday, 31 December 2026, 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.