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RIDS  |  Tygerberg Doctoral Office

FMHS Doctoral student life

On behalf of the Tygerberg Doctoral Office, a warm welcome to the PhD programme in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences on the Tygerberg campus of Stellenbosch University. The Tygerberg Doctoral Office offers comprehensive support for your doctoral research journey.


Starting you on the right track

  • First-year doctoral students (preparatory or PhD registration) should introduce yourself, in person, to Ms Brigitta Kepkey, Ms Tammara Adriaanse, or Dr Liela Groenewald, by visiting the Tygerberg Doctoral Office (Office 1073, first floor, Clinical Building) shortly after admission, on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday morning between 9AM and noon;
  • Browse our PhD Support pages, which contain expected milestones and guidance for every step of the doctoral journey;
  • F​amiliarise yourself with the resources on the SU postgraduate orientation page;​
  • Reach out to your academic environment on a priority basis, to confirm the details of your postgraduate coordinator and your supervisor, and meet your supervisor, preferably in person, as a prerequisite for success;
  • Gain imperative skills, get to know your research network, and alleviate the mental isolation of the PhD journey by joining the monthly doctoral discussion group (at any stage). Details available at this link.; invites distributed via Impromptu as well as our Whatsapp groups.;
  • This interactive map (select Tygerberg campus) should help you find your way around campus;
  • More information on our campus is available here and here.

Supporting your success throughout


Food ​​outlets

The following options are available for buying food on Tygerberg campus:

  • The Student Centre with OK Urban and various other outlets offering healthy and sustainable options such as fresh fruit and vegetables, salads, and sushi, as well as burgers, pasta, pies, wraps, etc. Prepared options range from sandwiches starting at around R40, to cooked or cold meals with an average cost of R100 per meal.
  • Cups and Saucers located near the entrance of the clinical building. It offers a variety of coffees, cold drinks, breakfast and lunch meals and snacks, while platters may be ordered in advance;
  • Synergy Cafe situated on the ground floor of the BMRI offers light meals and drinks;
  • Vida Cafe coffee shop situated in the foyer of the education building sells cold and hot beverages, sandwiches and snacks;
  • The hospital and student cafeteria can both be accessed using your student card.
  • The student center has a further three shops which sell food: MyBrew Coffee Roastery, Planetsavvy, and a mini supermarket. MyBrew Coffee Roastery offers cold and hot beverages and snacks, while Planetsavvy sell cold beverages, sandwiches, pizza slices, pie, wraps, pasta, chicken and steak.

For off-campus social food outlets, you may want to consider the Tyger Waterfront, the Tyger Valley mall, the Willowbridge shopping centre, or one of the wine farms in the Durbanville region.

For transport, you could consider Uber or Bolt - . In both cases, download the official app from the Google play store or Apple app store on your own smartphone or tablet and add your profile and bank card details before first-time use. Do protect the device with a screen lock. Be safety conscious at all times: Always check the registration number of an Uber vehicle before you accept a ride; Walk away if anyone other than the driver is present in the car.

*Note: We accept no liability for any of these options. Please research safety and culture prior to exercising an informed decision.

PhD Support