Three Fellowship Opportunities for African Doctoral Candidates

The Social Science Research Council offers fellowships to support the completion of doctoral degrees and to promote next generation social science research in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The fellowships support dissertation research on peace, security, and development topics.

All applications must be submitted using the online application portal.

The next application deadline is November 13, 2015.

Doctoral Dissertation Research and Completion Fellowships

The doctoral dissertation completion fellowship supports a one-year leave from teaching responsibilities and a stipend of up to US$15,000 to permit the completion of a dissertation that advances research on peace, security, and development topics.

The doctoral dissertation research fellowship supports 6–12 months of dissertation research costs of up to US$15,000 on a topic related to peace, security, and development.

All applicants must:

be citizens of and reside in a sub-Saharan African country
hold a master’s degree
be enrolled in a PhD program at an accredited university in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda

Additionally for the completion fellowship, applicants must:

be in the final year of writing and have completed at least one dissertation chapter

For the research fellowship, applicants must:

have an approved dissertation research proposal

As of May 2015, the program prioritizes applicants holding a faculty position or demonstrating a durable commitment to higher education but it does not restrict eligibility to such individuals.

Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Fellowships

Proposal development fellowships are intended to support doctoral students working on developing a doctoral dissertation research proposal as well as students who recently completed a master’s degree and seek to enroll in a PhD program.

The doctoral dissertation proposal fellowship supports short-term research costs of up to US$3,000 to develop a doctoral dissertation proposal.

All applicants must:

be citizens of a sub-Saharan African country
residents of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda
hold a master’s degree
either be enrolled in a PhD program or intend to enroll in a PhD program

As of May 2015, the program prioritizes applicants holding a faculty position or demonstrating a durable commitment to higher education but it does not restrict eligibility to such individuals.