BSc (Hon), MSc, & PhD students at Univ of Cape Town (Rep of South Africa)

The Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) has a number of Scholarships available for MSc and PhD studies in the general field of climate change, and in climate change impacts and adaptation. A limited number of scholarships are available to begin in 2008, with additional opportunities to begin in 2009. These scholarships are offered as part of the CSAG expansion the newly created NRF Chair in Climate Change awarded to Prof Hewitson.

Successful applicants will have broad flexibility to undertake there thesis research within the scope of the CSAG climate change research profile. However, specific areas of interest could include, but are not limited to, uncertainty and probability in climate projections, regional downscaling, multi-model multi-ensemble simulations, climate change versus natural/decadal variability, land-atmosphere interactions, climate feedbacks, climate tele-connection stability, climate change impacts and adaptation, climate change communication and stakeholder engagement, and linking climate change science and society.

Students should be well motivated, able to work in a team environment, and have a strong interest in developing their disciplinary depth within a multi-disciplinary research environment. Applicants should have completed or be completing the appropriate pre-requisite degrees (BSc, BSc Honours, or MSc) in a related discipline (meteorology, physics, climatology, land surface processes, hydrology, computer
science, applied maths, statistics, etc.), and ideally have some climate coursework and/or experience in their background. Interested applicants currently engaged with their undergraduate and BSc Honours degrees should be on average ranking in the upper 30% of their classes. Applicants will be advantaged if they have one or more of
the following: good computational literacy, programming skills, exposure to or experience with climate models.

Duration and scholarship value: Scholarships are subject to adequate progress and valid for 3 years for a Phd, 2 years for MSc, and 1 year for a BSc Honours. Scholarship amounts are tax free, and will be of the order of ~R70 000 for a PhD, ~R50 000 for a MSc, and ~R10000-R15000 for BSc Honours.

Deadlines: For 2007 the deadline for applications is the 31st November. Early application is encouraged.

To apply: Please make an initial pre-application by email to Sharon Barnard (barnard@csag.uct.ac.za). No fax or postal applications please. Include in your initial application a letter of motivation outlining your interests, a full CV (no certificates), and the names, email and telephone details of 2 referees. After initial selection, applicants will need to complete the normal University application
procedures. Please DO NOT complete the University procedures and forms until we have undertaken our initial screening.

About CSAG: CSAG is hosted within the Environmental and Geographical Science department, and is one of the largest research groups within Africa focused on climate systems research, with special interest in addressing scientific questions of importance to Africa. CSAG currently has 16 MSc and PhD students along with other post-docs, research associates, and support staff in IT and administration. The group has active funded research programs in climate change, seasonal forecasting, land-atmosphere feedbacks, regional and global modeling, as well as excellent collaboration across disciplines including climate impacts and adaptation issues, and a strong concern for linking science with society. CSAG has its own high-performance computing system (cluster and SMP systems) as well as full access to supercomputer capacity at the SA Centre for High Performance Computing . Excellent collaboration exists with international research groups, and innovative approaches are actively pursued, for example in the new fricanClimate@Home grid computing program, or our partnership with the Stockholm Environmental Institute on user tools for regional climate change projections.

The University of Cape Town is committed to equity in our employment practices. It is our intention to appoint individuals with the aim of meeting our equity objectives.


Climate Systems Analysis Group
Environmental and
Geographical Science,
University of Cape Town,
South Africa.

email: climate@egs.uct.ac.za
phone: +27 21 650 5774
fax: +27 21 650 5773