GEM Elite PhD Scholarships 2027 (Fully Funded)

Applications are now open for the GEM Elite Doctoral Scholarships at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. These fully funded scholarships support full-time PhD studies in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Successful candidates receive R200,000 per year for three years.

The programme starts on 18 January 2027. South African citizens and international students can apply, with preference given to previously disadvantaged South African citizens. There is no application fee. You can check out BS, MS, PhD and postdoc positions here.

Key Details:

• Degree Level: Full-time PhD (Doctoral)
• Host University: Stellenbosch University, South Africa
• Application Deadline: 7 August 2026
• Scholarship Value: R200,000 per year for three years
• Open to: South African citizens and foreign nationals
• Application Fee: None

What This Scholarship Offers:

• Full financial support of R200,000 per year for three years
• Coverage for living expenses, tuition fees, and research costs
• Opportunity to pursue a full-time PhD at Stellenbosch University, a leading South African university
• Guidance from experienced supervisors in your chosen research field
• Chance to conduct meaningful research in areas that benefit society
• Access to a supportive academic community and resources

Also Check: Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2027-2028

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for the GEM Elite Scholarships, candidates must:

• Hold a master’s degree in a relevant discipline and meet the minimum requirements for PhD admission at Stellenbosch University.
• Achieve a minimum academic mark of 70 percent.
• Submit a research topic that fits within one of the faculty’s approved Research Themes.
• Be a South African citizen or a foreign national. Previously disadvantaged South African citizens receive preference.

Also Check: PIBBSS Fellowship 2026-2027 in Cape Town, South Africa (Fully Funded)

Research Themes by Department:

Business Management

Department website: Click Here

The Department of Business Management emphasizes basic research rather than applied research. They do not accept students whose sole purpose is to address a company-related problem. Admission requires a highly specialised academic background.

Available Themes:

• Marketing to the benefit of society
• Human creativity and marketing
• Motives for consumer participation in the sharing economy
• Meaningful consumption experiences: exploring symbolism, relationships, self-affirmation and self-transformation in South African food experiences

Stellenbosch Business School

School website: Click Here

Available Themes:

• Healthcare leadership (Mental Health, Econometrics, Impact, Regulatory reform, Community engagement, Funding solutions, Training programs, Policy advocacy and review)
• Inclusion and Belonging in the Workplace (Corporate, SMMEs and Educational Contexts)
• Disability and Diversity in the Workplace (Corporate, SMMEs and Educational Contexts)
• Paradox Theory
• How to develop responsible climate leadership
• Changing Culture with Team of Teams Coaching
• Responsible Leadership in the Digital Era: Perspectives from South African Higher Education
• Responsible leadership as recovery and repair: how leaders, teams and organisations move out of grey or toxic patterns back toward responsible practice
• Sustainable entrepreneurship in impoverished contexts

Also Check: PhD Scholarships at University of Brescia, Italy 2026/2027

Economics

Department website (Click Here)

Available Themes:

• FDI, climate change, and Global Value Chains
• Firms and international trade
• Public Debt Ownership, Inflation, and Fiscal Space: Domestic versus Foreign Holders in Modern Sovereign Debt Markets
• Understanding personal financial decisions in the age of AI
• The Economics of Black African Internal Migration in South Africa, 1890–1939: Labour Markets, Household Decision-Making, and Macroeconomic Shocks under Racial Segregation
• Shades of Belonging: The Economic Legacies of Bureaucratic Colourism in Apartheid South Africa
• South–South Migration, Economic Insecurity and the Politics of Immigrant Exclusion

School of Public Leadership (SPL)

School website: Click Here

Available Themes:

• Blue economy, blue justice and ocean governance
• Blue economy, circular economy and just transitions
• Community governance, co-management and resource monitoring
• Waste management, environmental justice, livelihoods and coastal governance
• Applied Environmental and Ecological Economics; Integrated assessment and Modelling; Environmental policy and Governance
• Environmental Care: Values, Attitudes, Habits and Beliefs
• Decolonising Administrative Theory and Practice
• Institutional Studies and Economic Governance
• Political Economy of Corruption and Development
• Comparative Public Policy and Governance
• Developmentalism and the Developmental State

Logistics (Transport Economics)

Department website: Click Here

Available Themes:

• Comparing Hybrid Work and Workplace Mobility in the Emerging UAE Metropolitan System and Cape Metropolitan, Western Cape, South Africa
• Transport Accessibility and Economic Welfare (Accessibility and household expenditure patterns; Transport mode and activity profiles)
• Road user charging and distance-based user charges as an alternative to the fuel levy
• Urban, regional and transport economics (Polycentric urban development patterns in South Africa)
• Maritime Transport and Port Development

Also Check: PhD Researcher Positions at University of Porto, Portugal 2026 (Fully Funded)

Logistics (Operations Research)

Department website: Click Here

Available Themes:

• Computational modelling, simulation and optimisation in public healthcare systems
• Resource allocation modelling for epidemic response decision support
• Health systems accessibility and spatial vulnerability modelling

School of Accountancy

School website: Click Here

Available Themes:

• Accounting Education, Learning, and Professional Competence
• Financial Reporting and Assurance
• Corporate Governance, Remuneration, and Accountability
• Technology, Digitalisation, and IT Governance
• Taxation Policy, Compliance, and Reform
• Corporate Finance, Investment, and Valuations
• Business Rescue, Financial Distress, and Going Concern

Africa Centre for Inclusive Health Management (ACIHM)

Centre website: Click Here

Available Themes:

• Spirituality and wellbeing
• Disability studies/social theory of disability
• Indigenous knowledge systems and health
• Decolonial/postcolonial theories
• Critical methodologies
• Qualitative research
• Community-led care interventions
• Critical management studies in health
• Afrocentric health management theories
• Philosophies and values
• African cosmologies of wellbeing and indigenous health knowledge
• Caregiving and the care economy
• Health systems management
• Community health management
• Health communication
• Health-based document analysis and design
• Digital Health
• Mobile health (mHealth)
• Health literacy
• Healthcare innovation and Universal Health Coverage
• Health systems research, innovation and Universal Health Coverage
• Social determinants of health in promoting inclusive health
• Stigma, discrimination, and health equity among vulnerable and marginalized populations
• Critical pedagogical and social justice approaches to health and inclusion
• Culture, policy, and leadership in fostering inclusive and equitable work environments

Industrial Psychology

Department website: Click Here

Available Theme:

• Improving career maturity and decision-making: a longitudinal high school-based intervention

Also Check: Fully Funded PhD and Postdoc Positions 2026 at TU Delft, Netherlands

How to Apply:

1. Confirm that you meet all eligibility criteria.
2. Download and complete the official Application Form. (Click Here to Download)
3. Write a motivation letter (maximum one A4 page) and prepare a research concept note.
4. Gather all required supporting documents including certified academic transcripts, degree certificates, ID or passport copy, and English proficiency proof if needed.
5. Submit the completed application form and documents by email to [email protected] before 7 August 2026.
6. Ask your three referees to send their recommendation letters directly to the same email address by the deadline.

Also Check: University of Cologne, Germany PhD and Postdoc Positions 2026 (Fully Funded)