The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape invites students with a strong academic record who intend to pursue a full-time Master’s degree in Land and Agrarian Studies to apply for funding and work with a dynamic and transdisciplinary team of researchers and practitioners in the Resilient and Equitable Nature-based Pathways in Southern African Rangelands (REPAiR) project.
PLAAS is seeking to recruit three full-time MPhil postgraduate students to join the REPAiR team and pursue their postgraduate studies in project-related thematic areas. The value of the bursary is R100 000 per annum (two years).
Brief description of the REPAiR project
REPAiR is a new research project that critically explores whether and how equitable, contextual, community-led approaches to nature-based solutions can support adaptability and resilience in Southern Africa’s rangelands. Across Southern Africa, communally governed rangelands and grasslands support wildlife, vast informal economies and millions of people. There has been international interest in rangelands as spaces for landscape restoration and ecosystem management associated with nature-based solutions (NbS). But these dynamic landscapes are often misunderstood. Much of the evidence about NbS comes from very different settings in the Global North, with assumptions that are a mismatch to the histories and changing social, ecological and political contexts of Southern African rangelands.
REPAiR brings together multiple forms of knowledge and transdisciplinary collaboration, including case studies focused on sites in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The ideal candidates will be part of a transdisciplinary team working with selected grazing associations in the Eastern Cape Province. This will provide them with the opportunity to select a research site for their MPhil thesis.
Applicants who meet the following criteria should apply:
- Prospective students with a good academic record who wish to do a full-time Master’s degree in Land and Agrarian Studies;
- the prospective student must have an undergraduate degree (NQF level 8) in a Social Sciences Discipline (Anthropology, Sociology, Development Studies, Geography and other related disciplines); and
- a good academic record (above 65%).
Value of research bursary (two years): R 100 000 per annum.
Applicants need to email the following documents to Carla Henry (Coordinator: Postgraduate and Continuing Education) on postgraduates@plaas.org.za.
- Covering letter of motivation
- Full academic transcripts
- A brief concept note on a research theme related to the REPAiR project (nature-based solutions, climate change, natural resource governance, livestock production, communal rangelands, community-led conservation, and such)
- A recent sample of academic writing
- Contact details of at least two academics who have taught and/or supervised the
applicant.
Closing date for applications: Friday, 14 March 2025. Candidates will be shortlisted for a brief interview and must be available to commence full-time study in March 2025.
