Deadline: February 1, 2021.

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.

Doctoral dissertation proposal fellowships support PhD 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.

ELIGIBILITY

All applicants must:

• be citizens of any sub-Saharan African country
• be enrolled, or intend to enroll by the time of the award, and working towards a PhD in an accredited university, or affiliated to an institution in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda 
• hold a master’s degree at the time of application
• must be in their first year of study

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

BENEFITS

1. The fellowships support short-term research costs of up to US$3,000 to develop a doctoral dissertation proposal.  
2. This program also includes two workshops each year that have been designed to create fellows’ networks, help fellows refine, develop and strengthen research questions, match research methods to questions, engage key literature in their fields, and finalize their doctoral research proposals.

APPLICATION

All applications must be submitted using the online application portal.

OFFICIAL LINK

https://www.ssrc.org/fellowships/view/next-generation-social-sciences-in-africa-proposal-fellowship/