Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa: Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Fellowship

The Social Science Research Council offers fellowships to support the advancement of social science faculty toward completion of doctoral degrees and to promote next generation social science research in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The fellowships support dissertations and research on peace, security, and development topics.

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

Eligibility: 
All applicants must be citizens of and reside in a sub-Saharan African country while holding a current faculty position at an accredited college or university in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda. Applicants for any of the funding opportunities offered through this program must have a master’s degree and be working toward completion of the doctoral degree. The program seeks to promote diversity and encourages women to apply. To be eligible for the US$3,000 dissertation proposal fellowship, applicants must be admitted to a graduate program but have yet to undertake dissertation research.

Application Process: 
All applications must be submitted using the online application portal.

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 disciplines. 

Fellows must be willing to attend two workshops sponsored by the SSRC each year that are intended to help early-career faculty produce scholarly publications. We anticipate awarding approximately 45 fellowships in total each year.

Deadline:

The next application deadline is December 1, 2013. 

For inquiries or technical questions pertaining to the online application portal, please contact SSRC staff from the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Program: nextgenafrica@ssrc.org