Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa: Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship 2023 (up to $15,000)
Deadline: 10th of February, 2023
In Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda, the Social Scientific Research Council offers fellowships to encourage the completion of doctoral degrees and to advance next-generation social science research. The fellowships fund dissertation research on issues related to development, security, and peace.
The doctorate dissertation research fellowship provides funding for up to $15,000 in dissertation research expenses over a period of 6 to 12 months for a topic connected to peace, security, and development. Additionally, this programme provides two workshops every year to aid fellows in strengthening and developing their research, engaging major works in their disciplines, starting fieldwork-based research, and improving their writing skills, including for academic publications.
Thematic Priorities
The programme features a thematic focus on peace, security, and development in order to renew basic research agendas and strengthen interdisciplinary social science research capacity addressing these issues.
The programme encourages innovative research on peace, security, and development topics, moving the boundaries of scholarship and research by exploring concrete linkages between these themes. They envision supporting a diverse set of projects seeking to shed light on a range of economic, political, social, conflict and peacebuilding processes using evidence-based research.
Some projects, they hope, will examine large-scale phenomena and others small-scale social processes. The strongest projects typically will explore connections across these scales. Some research projects will rigorously explore elements of governance, civil society, human rights, peacebuilding mechanisms/institutions and processes, and rule of law. Others will explore root causes of conflict, human insecurity, emerging trajectories and forms of conflict, insecurities, and human mobilities. Above all projects should advance important fields of study and social science knowledge.
Eligibility
All applicants must:
- be citizens of any sub-Saharan African country;
- be enrolled and working towards a PhD in an accredited university, or affiliated to an institution in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda;
- have a fully developed doctoral dissertation research proposal approved by a graduate school/program at an accredited university in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania or Uganda.
As of May 2015, the programme prioritizes applicants holding a faculty position or demonstrating a durable commitment to higher education in Africa, but does not restrict eligibility to such individuals. The programme seeks to promote diversity and encourages women to apply.
Application
Strong proposals will offer clear and concise descriptions of the project and its significance. Proposals should display thorough knowledge of the relevant social science literature that applicants will engage and the methodologies relevant to the project.
In addition, applicants must demonstrate that all proposed activities are feasible and can be completed in a timely manner. All proposals will be evaluated for these criteria by an independent, international committee of leading scholars from a range of social science and related disciplines.
