Postdoctoral Research Fellows Hub
More information about being a postdoctoral research fellow (PDRF) at UCT.
Postdoctoral fellowships (PDRFs) at UCT offer a unique opportunity for early-career researchers to collaborate with faculty members, enhance their expertise, and make significant contributions to their respective fields. PDRFs bring fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and diverse skill sets, thereby enhancing the university's capacity for groundbreaking research and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Upcoming event: UCT Postdoctoral Research Showcase 2026
The UCT Postdoctoral Association (PDA), supported by the Office for Postgraduate Studies and Researcher Development, will be hosting a hybrid Postdoctoral Research Showcase under the theme "African Innovation, Global Relevance", on 13 July 2026, from 9am-4pm at the New Lecture Theatre on Upper Campus or via MS Teams.
Postdoctoral Research Fellows (PDRFs) are invited to showcase their research through presentations and posters.
PDOC Assessment and Admissions Process
Want to become a UCT postdoc?
- You need to haved achieved a doctoral degree within the last 5 years.
- You need a UCT host or principal investigator (PI) to mentor and guide you for the duration of the PDRF fellowship.
- A first step can be to examine the current PRDF opportunities available at UCT.
- This infographic provides an overview for new PDRFs (local and international) of the process from identifying funding opportunities to enrolment at UCT.
Explore PDRF fellowship opportunities here
New & existing postdoctoral research fellows
Welcome to UCT! Worldwide the PDRF cohort is acknowledged as a key component of the research ecosystem that contributes strongly to research outputs.
PDRF-related policies
The granting of tenure and administration of postdoctoral researchers at UCT is guided by the university's policies on postdoctoral research.
PDRF funding and payment
PDRFs are funded by several different sources, including the University's Research Committee (URC), the National Research Foundation (NRF), the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and a number of other external foundations and agencies.
Payment
An agreed-upon amount of your fellowship will be paid on completion of the MoA and enrollment. The balance of the fellowship will be released at agreed-upon intervals during the year.
Payment is made by the PGFO and may take the form of 2 to 4 payments to your fee account, which can be transferred to your banking account at a later stage.
Read more about payment and fellowship award conditions
In this section you can find all the details regarding payment, the conditions to be met before receiving your reward as well as more information about PDRF tenure.
UCT research news
Need support or have a question?
For dedicated postdoctoral research fellow support, you can email pdocs@uct.ac.za.