Immunology

The PhD in the field of Immunology is a three-year full-time research programme.

Overview

Students will conduct Immunology research, with the intension of becoming an expert in their specific area of research. Specific research areas of interest include Infectious Diseases, Autoimmune Diseases, Allergy and Transplant Immunology.

Full-time research projects will be assigned following discussion with potential supervisors.

NOTE: PhD programmes are full-time research and on a full-time study basis. Only in exceptional circumstances will part-time study be considered.

Curriculum

Students will be expected to design the study and write a research proposal with a clear experimental approach for data collection, analysis, results interpretation, research report write-up and demonstrate the ability to disseminate the findings through presentations.

Entry Requirements

For admission to the PhD programme, you should have obtained an average of at least 65% for your MSc degree, and preference will be given to applicants who obtained 70% or more.

Graduates with an MSc in Immunology, Molecular Medicine & Haematology, Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, Virology or any other pathology-related field are preferred.

Please note that the minimum requirements serve as a guide and the Department reserves the right to reject applications at its discretion and based on capacity. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee a place and the final selection is made subject to the availability of places and academic results.

Supervisors list

University Application Process

  • Applications are handled centrally by the Student Enrolment Centre (SEnC). Once your application is complete in terms of requested documentation, your application will be referred to the relevant School for assessment. Click here to see an overview of the Wits applications process. Refer to Wits Postgraduate Online Applications Guide for detailed guidelines. 
  • Please apply online. Upload your supporting documents at the time of application, or via the Self Service Portal.
  • Applicants can monitor the progress of their applications via the Self Service Portal.
  • Selections for programmes that have a limited intake but attract a large number of applications may only finalise the application at the end of the application cycle.

Please note that the Entry Requirements are a guide. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee a place. Final selection is made subject to the availability of places, academic results and other entry requirements where applicable.

International students, please check this section.

For more information, contact the Student Call Centre +27 (0)11 717 1888, or log a query at www.wits.ac.za/askwits.

University Fees and Funding

Click here to see the current average tuition fees. The Fees site also provides information about the payment of fees and closing dates for fees payments. Once you have applied you will be able to access the fees estimator on the student self-service portal.

For information about postgraduate funding opportunities, including the postgraduate merit award, click here. The University's Postgraduate Funding portal is a database of scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities available to Wits postgraduate students. Please also check your School website for bursary opportunities. NRF bursaries: The National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a wide range of opportunities in terms of bursaries and fellowships to students pursuing postgraduate studies. External bursaries portal: The Bursaries South Africa website provides a comprehensive list of bursaries in South Africa.