NRF Rating Categories: A1 to C3 Explained

South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) rates individual researchers with a letter and a number: A1, A2, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, plus the separate P and Y categories for early-career researchers. If someone has told you they are “a C2” or “a B3” and you do not know whether that is good, this page explains what each category actually means.

The single most useful thing to understand is this: the letter describes your standing; the number describes how unanimous the reviewers were. Get that, and the whole system becomes readable.

The letter is the standing

There are three main letters for established researchers, and two additional categories for people early in their careers.

A — Leading international researchers. Researchers who are unequivocally recognised by their peers as leading international scholars in their field, for the high quality and impact of their recent research outputs.
B — Internationally acclaimed researchers. Researchers who enjoy considerable international recognition from their peers for the high quality and impact of their recent outputs.
C — Established researchers. Researchers with a sustained recent record of productivity in their field.
P — Prestigious Awards. Young researchers, normally under 35, who have held a doctorate for less than five years and are judged likely to become future international leaders in their field.
Y — Promising young researchers. Early-career researchers, within roughly five years of their doctorate, with the potential to establish themselves as researchers.

Note what the C category is not. It is not a failing grade or a consolation category. A C rating means the NRF, on international peer review, considers you an established researcher with a sustained record of productivity. The majority of rated South African researchers hold a C rating.

The number is the degree of reviewer consensus

This is the part that is almost never explained, and it is why B2 and B3 sound mysteriously different despite describing the same standing.

Each application goes to international peer reviewers. The sub-category reflects how many of them agreed:

Sub-category 1 — all reviewers agree, and some place the applicant higher still.
Sub-category 2 — all or the overriding majority of reviewers are firmly convinced.
Sub-category 3 — most reviewers are convinced.

So a B3 and a B2 are both “considerable international recognition.” The difference is that the B2’s reviewers were more nearly unanimous about it. A C3 and a C1 are both established researchers; the C1’s reviewers were unanimous, and some of them reached toward international recognition.

Every category, in plain terms

Category	What it means
A1	Recognised by all reviewers as a leading international scholar, for the high quality and wide impact of recent outputs. The NRF’s highest rating.
A2	Recognised by the overriding majority of reviewers as a leading international scholar in the field, for the high quality and impact — either wide or more confined — of recent outputs.
B1	All reviewers agree the applicant enjoys considerable international recognition for the quality and impact of recent outputs, and some regard the applicant as a leading international scholar.
B2	All or the overriding majority of reviewers are firmly convinced the applicant enjoys considerable international recognition for the quality and impact of recent outputs.
B3	Most reviewers are convinced the applicant enjoys considerable international recognition for the quality and impact of recent outputs.
C1	All reviewers agree the applicant is an established researcher with sustained productivity. Recognition ranges from considerable international recognition through to nationally leading standing focused on local or regional advancement.
C2	All reviewers are firmly convinced the applicant is an established researcher. The applicant may, but need not, enjoy some international recognition.
C3	Most reviewers concur that the applicant is an established researcher.
P	Normally under 35, doctorate held under five years; all or the overwhelming majority of reviewers judge the applicant to have demonstrated the potential to become a future international leader.
Y1	Early-career researcher; all reviewers see potential to establish themselves as a researcher, with some indicating future leadership potential.
Y2	Early-career researcher; all or the overriding majority see the potential to establish themselves as a researcher, demonstrated by recent research products.

The C1 definition carries an important nuance that is easy to miss: it explicitly accommodates researchers whose work is nationally leading and directed at local or regional advancement rather than international visibility. A researcher doing significant South African policy or applied work is not penalised by the rating system for that focus.

How long a rating lasts

An NRF rating is valid for six years. Rated researchers are invited to apply for re-evaluation in the fifth year of the cycle, and a new rating takes effect from 1 January of the following year. A rating that is not renewed lapses.

Who can apply, and how

Applications fall into four types:

New — you have never applied before, or withdrew a previous application before it was processed.
Re-evaluation by invitation — you currently hold a rating and have been invited in year five of your cycle.
Re-evaluation — your rating has lapsed, or a previous application was unsuccessful. There is normally a waiting period of at least three years before reapplying.
Special re-evaluation — applying early, which requires a motivation from your institution.

Applications are submitted through your institution, not directly to the NRF as an individual. Your university’s research office runs internal deadlines that fall well before the NRF’s own closing date — typically an NRF-format CV months ahead, then one or more internal draft reviews. If you intend to apply, the date that matters to you is your institution’s, not the NRF’s. Ask your research office for the current cycle’s internal timetable.

What a rating is worth

A rating is primarily a statement of standing, and it carries weight in promotion, appointment and grant contexts. It also attracts incentive funding: South African university research-office guidance describes annual incentive allocations scaled by category, with A-rated researchers receiving the largest allocation, B, P and Y1 ratings a middle band, and C and Y2 ratings a smaller band. These funds are typically usable for materials and supplies, travel and subsistence, research assistance, equipment, data management, sabbatical support and postgraduate scholarship top-ups.

Do not budget from figures you find online, including ours. Incentive amounts are set by the NRF, change between funding frameworks, and are administered through your institution. Confirm the current value with your research office before relying on it.

A caution about reading ratings competitively

The rating system has been criticised within South African academia — including in the peer-reviewed literature — on the grounds that adjacent categories are not always cleanly distinguishable in practice, and that reviewer panels can place similar candidates on either side of a boundary. Because the sub-category encodes reviewer consensus rather than a measured quantity, small differences such as B2 versus B3, or C1 versus C2, should not be read as precise rankings of research quality. The letter is the meaningful signal; the number is a reviewer-agreement marker.

Frequently asked questions

What does an A1 NRF rating mean?

It is the NRF’s highest rating: all reviewers recognise the researcher as a leading international scholar in their field, for the high quality and wide impact of their recent outputs.

What does a B2 NRF rating mean?

All or the overriding majority of reviewers are firmly convinced the researcher enjoys considerable international recognition for the quality and impact of their recent research outputs.

What does a C3 NRF rating mean?

Most reviewers agree the researcher is an established researcher with a sustained recent record of productivity. It is a recognised rating, not a failure — the “3” reflects that agreement was majority rather than unanimous.

What does a C2 NRF rating mean?

All reviewers are firmly convinced the researcher is an established researcher. International recognition is not required at this level, though it may be present.

Is a C rating bad?

No. C means established researcher with sustained productivity, confirmed by international peer review, and it is the most commonly held rating band.

What is the difference between P and Y?

Both are early-career categories. P is for researchers judged likely to become future international leaders — a stronger signal, normally for those under 35 and within five years of the doctorate. Y is for researchers with the potential to establish themselves as researchers.

How long does an NRF rating last?

Six years, with re-evaluation invited in the fifth year and any new rating effective from 1 January of the following year.

Can I apply for a rating myself?

Applications go through your institution. Start with your university research office, which manages the internal timetable and submission.

Related CASRAI resources

Sources: category definitions drawn from the National Research Foundation’s rating framework as published by South African university research offices — principally the University of Cape Town’s Research Support Hub rating-categories page and the University of the Free State’s NRF funding, ratings and criteria guidance — accessed August 2026, together with the NRF’s own Reviews and Evaluations directorate description. The six-year validity, the four application types and the incentive-funding structure are taken from that institutional guidance. Incentive amounts are described qualitatively rather than numerically because published figures are institution-specific and change between funding frameworks; readers are directed to their research office for current values. The critique of category distinguishability reflects published commentary in the South African Journal of Science.