Wits Doctoral Academy (WDA)

The Wits Doctoral Academy (WDA) addresses today's research challenges—inequality, climate change, and other complex problems—through innovative, interdisciplinary doctoral education. Drawing on international partnerships and collaborative networks, we're creating a curriculum that enables all students to reach their full potential.

Our interdisciplinary approach connects core offerings with faculty-specific programs while facilitating smooth progression from master's to doctoral study. Beyond increasing PhD numbers and completion rates, the WDA reimagines postgraduate education to forge new paths for impactful research.

The cohort model transforms the often isolating PhD experience into a vibrant community where students exchange ideas across disciplines and engage with leading researchers. Through collaborative reading, writing, and discussion—both online and in-person—students develop their original contributions to knowledge.

We critically examine what research means today, honoring established traditions while opening new forms of knowledge creation for a more equitable world. The WDA nurtures curiosity, creativity, and commitment in exceptional minds, encouraging them not only to solve persistent problems but to ask new questions and explore different ways of shaping our world.