Funding for African academics and African Masters & PhD students – super helpful! :)

I’ve reposted Rachel Strohm’s article on “Research and travel funding for African Academics” below. This is a REALLY helpful resource for those looking for funding for research and travel. I’ve also included her funding list for MA and PhD opportunities at the end…

From Rachel:

“As a complement to my list of scholarships for African students doing MAs and PhDs, here are all the research and travel grants that I could find for African professors.  If you come across any others, please send them my way!  They’re listed by funding type and by country or region.

I include the link to the current version of the fellowship or grant offered when I found it, so some of the links may now be out of date.  I don’t have time to update all the links every year, so if you find an outdated link, just Google the current information on the program.

I’ll note here that I get a lot of requests from people asking me to help them get a scholarship.  I’m not affiliated with any of the universities or scholarship providers listed here.  I can’t provide individualized recommendations for scholarships.  I can review a limited number of social science scholarship applications as my schedule permits.

African Post-Docs

• The Inter-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme supports visiting researchers at a range of African universities
• The African Science Partnership for Intervention Research Excellence (ASPIRE) offers a variety of post-doc opportunities around Africa
• The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program offers fellowships for  diaspora academics to return to teach in Africa
• The African Peacebuilding Network has residential post-doc positions in Africa and the US
• CODESRIA also offers post-docs (not clear if they’re residential)
• The World Academy of Sciences offers post-docs at South African universities
• The Colin Murray grant for postdoctoral research in South Africa
• The National Research Foundation of South Africa offers post-docs for researchers from low-income countries other than SA
• The East Africa Social Science Translation Collaborative has a frequently-updated list of research and job opportunities across Africa and the US

European Post-Docs

• The Commonwealth Rutherford Fellowships support post-doctoral research by students who are citizens of a Commonwealth country
• The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships support PhD and post-doctoral study
• The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowships offer research support for early career academics from around the world, primarily for research in the EU
  
• The WZB Berlin Social Science Center offers a Global Fellowship Programme which allows scholars from low income countries to spend 4 – 6 months in Berlin
• The German Academic Exchange Service has fellowships for PhD studies and post-docs
• Volkswagen Stiftung offers humanities post-docs to African academics who would like to study in Germany
• The Global Challenges Fellowship at Central European University supports scholars from low income countries studying pressing public policy issues
• The Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin and the Central European University in Budapest offer an eight-month fellowship for recent MA or PhD graduates from Nigeria and South Africa
• The University of Pavia has a short-term visiting fellow programme for scholars from low income countries
• The Centre of African Studies at Cambridge is looking for visiting research fellows
• The Oxford Global Leaders Fellowship Programme offers two-year residential fellowships for people from non-OECD countries to study global governance
• The Newton International Fellowships Scheme supports postgraduate study by international researchers in the UK
• The Leventis Research Co-operation Programme at SOAS offers a three-month post-doc to Nigerian scholars
• Durham University offers a one-term residential post-doc for scholars focused on Sudan through the Sir William Luce Fund

Other Post-Docs

• The Fields Institute is offering postdocs to African physicists *
• Here’s a list of more than 240 postdocs around the world
• The Australia Awards provides fellowships for short-term professional education in Australia
• The JNCASR-CICS Fellowship Programme for scientific research at Indian universities
• East African Social Science Translation Collaborative fellowships at UC Berkeley cover one semester’s residence and research support at CEGA
• The Center for Global Development offers year-long IDRC fellowships in Washington, DC for researchers from low income countries (via Marla Spivack)
• The World Bank has a one-year fellowship for researchers focused on child development
• The World Academy of Sciences offers post-docs for researchers from low income countries who’d like to study in Brazil, India, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan and Thailand
• The Wellcome Trust provides a variety of fellowships for early and mid-career researchers in public health and tropical medicine from low income countries
• Scholars4Dev lists post-docs around the world
• The WorldFish Centre and IDRC have a really large (if now slightly outdated) list of scholarships, fellowships and post-docs (via Jon Harle, who also has his own great list of scholarships)
• DocLinks lists European post-docs for African researchers in a variety of fields (via Jon Harle)

Research Funding

• The Medical Research Council in the UK is offering grants of up to five years of research funding and salary support to African researchers *
• The Africa Research Excellence Fund offers training and grants for African researchers in the health sciences *
• Eni offers a research prize for African researchers focused on energy issues *
• The FLAIR Fellowship provides a substantial amount of funding to early career African scientists
• The Robert S. McNamara Fellowship at the World Bank provides research funding to PhD students from low income countries
• The International Network for Government Science Advice offers research grants to scholars from low and middle-income countries
• The Next Einstein Initiative offers a fellowship for female scientists at African institutions doing work on climate change
• The Independent Social Science Research Foundation offers a variety of grants
• The European Research Council offers starting grants to early-career scientists of any nationality
• The Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund offers academic placements and research funding to scholars who are living in countries affected by civil war
• The International Growth Centre has regular calls for proposals on economic development
• The Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa offers grants for research on environmental issues and poverty alleviation
• Grand Challenges Africa offers innovation seed grants to African scholars doing work related to the SDGs
• The Africa Science Leadership Programme at the University of Pretoria supports early- to mid-career researchers in all disciplines including natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, arts and the humanities
• The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowships support women around the world
• The GIGA Institute of Africa Affairs offer seed funding for PhD students and early-career researchers
• The West Africa Research Association offers doctoral research fellowships to West African scholars
• The Global Development Awards recognize excellence in development research
• USAID’s Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research provides research funding for scientists in low income countries
• The Matasa Fellows Network provides young African scholars with busaries to produce synthesis papers and policy briefs on development-related topics
• The Association of African Universities offers small research grants to post-graduate students and lecturers at AAU-affiliated universities
• The SSRC’s African Peacebuilding Network also provides individual research grants and collaborative working group grants for researchers in Africa
• The Public Affairs Research Institute in South Africa offers funding for short research projects by MA and PhD students
• The African Union Scientific Award Programme offers large grants to top African scientists
• The World Academy of Sciences provides research grants for scientists from low income countries
• Instrumental Access donates high quality scientific equipment to universities in low income countries

Travel, Conference, and Visiting Scholar Funding

• The Population Reference Bureau offers a policy training program for African PhD students studying public health *
• The Rothamsted International – University of Nottingham Fellowships offer visiting researcher positions to scholars from low income countries focused on agriculture *
• Chatham House offers the African Public Health Leaders Fellowship
• Iso Lomso fellowships are available for early career African researchers to spend time in residence at Stellenbosch
• The Women for Africa Foundation is funding visiting researcher positions for African women at scientific centers of excellence in Spain
• The African-German Network for Excellence in Sciences offers a mobility grant for junior African researchers
• The Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford offers one-year visiting researcher positions for African economists
• The Academy Africa fellowships at Chatham House support one visiting researcher each year from Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal or South Africa
• The Africa-Oxford Initiative has annual calls for visiting fellows
• The Structural Transformation of African Agriculture and Rural Spaces project at Cornell University has annual calls for African research fellows
• The Association of Commonwealth Universities offers Early Career Academic Grants for scholars from Commonwealth countries to travel to conferences
• African women in science should apply for the Kwame Nkrumah Regional Scientific Awards for Women
• The American Political Science Association’s Research Development Group is offering travel funding for early-career African scholars to attend their annual meeting
• The African Academy of Sciences is looking for early-career affiliates
• CODESRIA’s African Diaspora Support to African Universities program brings diaspora academics back to the continent as visiting professors
• The Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford offers travel busaries for African academics who have had a paper accepted to their annual conference
• 3ie is offering busaries for nationals of sub-Saharan African countries to attend the African Impact Evaluation conference
• African scholars are eligible for the African Studies Association’s Presidential Fellows program, which covers the cost of attendance at the annual ASA conference in the US
• The Elsevier Foundation funds short exchange programs for faculty members who are focused on sustainability and live in a low income country
• The United Nations University in Helsinki offers three-month residential internships for current PhD students
• The University of Michigan African Presidential Scholars program offers six-month residential fellowships to African professors
• PLOS offers US$500 travel grants for conference presentations by early career science researchers
• African Women in Agricultural Research and Development offers mentoring, travel grants, and short courses on leadership to female scientists
• The German Academic Exchange Service also offers funding for travel, research, and visiting scholar positions
• AuthorAID provides small grants for travel, workshops, or online courses for academics from low income countries
• The Emerging Nations Science Foundation offers travel and conference grants
• The UK Collaborative on Development Sciences lists a number of calls for proposals

Training

• The Mekatilili Fellowship Program offers three days of design training to fellows in Nairobi
• The Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program offers training to young and mid-career professionals from countries around the world
• St Francis Xavier University in Canada runs a Global Change Leaders training program to help women from low income countries build leadership skills
• The Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship Programme offers leadership skills training to young people from across Africa
• The Peace and Security Fellowship for African Women is run by the Africa Leadership Centre
• The UN Fellowship Programme for People of African Descent offers training in human rights
• The British Institute in Eastern Africa runs a summer school in research methods
• The African Studies Review Pipeline for Emerging African Scholars program offers a weeklong workshop on the publication process
• The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences – Women in Innovation (WiIN) program offers a developmental leadership seminar for 15 women from across Africa
• The African Institutions Initiative lists training courses throughout Africa in public health and infectious disease
• Participants in the American Political Science Association’s Africa Workshops have their expenses covered
• The LSE-UCT July School offers bursaries for African nationals
• The Demographic & Health Surveys fellowship program offers training in the use of DHS surveys to university faculty from Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria and Zambia
• The Next Einstein Forum offers fellowships and mentoring to young African scientists
• The African Social Research Initiative at the University of Michigan offers summer research training to African PhD students or academics from Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, South Africa, and Uganda
• The African Studies Association of the UK offers writing workshops where early-career African academics can work on a paper with the editor of a journal
• The Partnership for African Social and Governance Research offers an intensive training course in research methods for African academics (also via Jon Harle)
• SOAS runs a residential school on governance for development in Africa, with all costs covered for accepted applicants
• Thomas Gale scholarships for students from the US and Kenya who would like to attend the SOAS Academic Summer School
• CODESRIA has just launched a College of Mentors, which connects PhD students at African universities to faculty members in Africa and the US for mentorship *
• TechWomen is a USAID program which offers training and mentorship to female leaders in STEM fields
• AuthorAID also connects academics from different countries who are looking for mentoring or assistance with specific aspects of the research and publication processes
• Global Colleagues is an initiative from Academics Stand Against Poverty which connects junior scholars from low income countries with senior colleagues around the world
• The Moremi Initiative offers a yearlong training program for African women from 18 – 25
• WOMID is a new initiative which connects women doing PhDs in development-related fields with other women currently working in development
• The World Economic Forum offers a unique three-year professional developent fellowship with academic modules, mentoring and work experience
• Residents of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe are eligible for the Eisenhower Fellowship, which offers two months of leadership training in the US for mid-career development professionals

MA and PhD opportunities

I’ve come across several great scholarship opportunities for African students who’d like to study or attend workshops abroad recently, and wanted to highlight them here.  They’re listed by country or region, and by university.

I include the link to the version of the scholarship offered when I found it, so some of the links may now be out of date.  I don’t have time to update all the links every year, so if you find an outdated link, just Google the current information on the scholarship.

I’ll note here that I get a lot of requests from people asking me to help them get a scholarship.  I’m not affiliated with any of the universities or scholarship providers listed here.  I can’t provide individualized recommendations for scholarships.  I can review a limited number of social science scholarship applications as my schedule permits.

Si vous êtes un étudiant francophone, veuillez regarder la liste des bourses ici.

Africa

• Strathmore University in Kenya is offering PhD scholarships in health management *
• The Intra-Africa Biomedical Engineering Mobility Scheme offers MA and PhD funding for students enrolled at African universities
• The Wadsworth African Fellowships support African students doing PhDs in anthropology at South African universities
• The American University in Cairo offers African Graduate Fellowships
• MOUNAF offers scholarships for students doing MA or PhD study in Africa
• The African Leadership University offers Mandela 100 scholarships for undergraduate study at ALU Rwanda
• The Mawazo PhD Scholars Programme offers a research fellowship for women doing PhDs at Kenyan universities
• The African Science Partnership for Intervention Research Excellence (ASPIRE) offers a variety of MA and PhD scholarships around Africa
• Zawadi Africa supports African women who are pursuing undergraduate studies in the US, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya
• The government of Mauritius is offering scholarships to students from AU member states
• The Dolika Banda Scholarship for Zambian women in STEM at the African Leadership University
• The Pan-African University has a number of MA and PhD fellowships
• The Ethiopian Foundation offers scholarships to Ethiopian students
• Fondazione Edu offers scholarships for BA students at the University of Ghana
• The SSRC’s Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program offers fellowships for PhD students preparing dissertation proposals, writing the dissertation, and completing the dissertation at universities in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda
• The ACLS African Humanities Program offers research funding to African PhD students at universities in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda
• The Institute of Infectious Diseases of Poverty offers PhD scholarships to students studying infectious disease at the University of Ghana, University of Ibadan, University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako and Modibbo Adama University of Technology
• The Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique offers funding for MA and PhD students to undertake research in East Africa
• The Jim Ovia Scholarship supports BA and MA students at Nigerian universities
• The ECOWAS Fellowship Programme for masters and PhD students at the University of Lagos and University of Ibadan
• The World Academy of Sciences has similar fellowships available for students doing PhDs in Brazil, China, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico and Pakistan
• The Lagos State Scholarship Board offers funding for BA and MA study in South Africa, India, Ukraine and China to Nigerian citizens
• The Graça Machel Scholarship Programme offers funding for post-graduate study in South Africa and the UK to women from Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa and Zambia
• The MTN Solution Space Fellowships for MBA study at the University of Cape Town
• The Lisa Maskell Fellowship supports graduate study at the University of Stellenbosch
• The Mandela Institute for Development Studies has just launched a new scholarship programme, details TBD
• The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology is offering 10 PhD scholarships for students studying food and nutrition
• The Square Kilometer Array in South Africa offers undergraduate, MA and PhD scholarships in astronomy
• CODESRIA has a selection of scholarships for thesis completion and PhD studies at any public university in South Africa
• The Canon Collins Educational & Legal Assistance Trust provides scholarships to universities in southern Africa and the UK
• The Bank of Tanzania offers BA and MA scholarships at a range of Tanzanian universities
• The Partnership for African Social and Governance Research offers scholarships for students doing the MA in research and public policy at Maseno University, Egerton University, Uganda Christian University, Uganda Martyrs University, University of Dar es Salaam, and Mzumbe University
• The African Economic Research Consortium offers MA and PhD scholarships
• The Regional University Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) offers funding for MSc and PhD students in agriculture at African universities
• The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World offers fellowships for women pursuing PhDs in scientific fields at universities in low income countries
• The Open Society Foundation supports PhD students and professors from Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Sudan and South Sudan through the Civil Society Scholar Awards

Europe

• The Government of Ireland International Education Programme offers funding to non-European students to do one year of BA or MA study in the country *
• The Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals are open to African students doing MA programs in Sweden *
• There are a variety of scholarships for non-European students who would like to do undergraduate or graduate study in Holland
• Sciences Po offers scholarships for English-language undergraduate and graduate study by African students
• The German Academic Exchange Service has a wide range of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students to study in Germany
• The Netherlands Fellowship Program supports MBA students from Africa and other low-income regions studying at Business School Netherlands
• The University of Amsterdam has a number of scholarships for international students (via Simon Columbus)
• The University of Groningen Talent Grant is open to students from a range of low-income countries doing MA programs
• The Norwegian government provides scholarships for 800 students from low income countries annually through its Quota Scheme
• The Bergen Summer Research School offers stipends to PhD students from many low income countries
• The University of Zurich offers a mobility grant for African students to spend one or two semesters there
• The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships support PhD and post-doctoral study
• The Kofi Annan Fellowship supports students from low income countries doing an MBA at universities in Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey

UK

• The Rowan William Studentship at Cambridge offers support to students from conflict-affected countries *
• The University of Nottingham Developing Solutions Scholarships support MA study by students from Africa, India, and other Commonwealth countries *
• Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Climate Change Master’s Fellowships at the University of Edinburgh are available to students from low income countries
• The Standard Bank Derek Cooper Scholarship offers funding for African students pursuing MA study at Oxford, Cambridge, and the LSE
• The University of Manchester offers Equality and Merit scholarships to cover the cost of postgraduate study for students from low income countries
• The Gates Cambridge Scholarship covers the cost of postgraduate study for students who are not UK citizens
• The David and Elaine Potter Foundation offers scholarships for African students doing MA and PhD studies in Politics and International Studies at Cambridge
• A variety of scholarships are available through the Cambridge Africa program
• BG Fellowships are available for Tanzanian students doing MAs in fields relevant to the oil and gas sector at Imperial College London, Aberdeen University, and Robert Gordon University
• The University of Edinburgh offers scholarships for African students to undertake a variety of MA programs
• The African Excellence Fee Waiver is available for students doing graduate study at the University of Glasgow
• Peace, Security and Development Fellowships for African scholars undertaking the MSc Security, Leadership & Society at King’s College London (and also the same fellowship specifically for African women)
• The Program for African Leadership supports the MSc Development Management and MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies at the LSE
• Felix Scholarships support graduate study by students from low income countries at the University of Reading
• The University of Essex offers tuition discounts to African students through the African Scholarship Programme
• The Africa London Nagasaki Fund supports MA study at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of Nagasaki
• The University of Manchester offers merit scholarships to students from Uganda
• The Dreyfus-Weidenfeld Scholarship supports postgraduate study at Oxford for students from low income countries
• Six separate scholarships offered by Oxford for the MSc African Studies
• Commonwealth Scholarships support African students doing the MA in International Human Rights Law at Oxford
• There are also Commonwealth Shared Scholarships for students from African Commonwealth countries doing several types of degrees at SOAS
• The Ferguson Scholarship for African students doing the MA in African Studies, International Studies and Diplomacy, or Social Anthropology of Development at SOAS
• The Cultures of Resistance scholarships for MScs, MAs, and LLMs at SOAS
• The Governance for Development in Africa Initiative offers funding for MSc and PhD students at the Centre of African Studies at SOAS
• African Graduate Fellowships for students doing an MSc in Global Health at UCL
• The Windle Trust offers fellowships for students from Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda who would like to pursue an MA at several different universities in the UK
• The UK’s Chevening Scholarship supports post-graduate study at a range of universities
• The Wellcome Trust offers scholarships for students from low income countries doing MAs in public health and tropical medicine in the UK

US

• The University of Delaware Borel Fellows program offers scholarships for MA study in agriculture to African students
• The Obama Foundation Scholars program offers fellowships for the MA in International Development Policy at UChicago
• The American Association of University Women’s International Fellowships support women who are not US citizens and want to pursue graduate study in the US
• Dartmouth offers four-year BA scholarships to students from low income countries through the King Scholar Leadership Program
• Ashinaga Africa supports BA studies abroad by students from a range of Anglophone countries
• Cynthia’s Sisters offers law school scholarships to women from the DRC
• The Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa fellowship program at Georgetown supports women doing the LLM
• Georgetown is offering a fellowship to students from sub-Saharan Africa for the MS in Foreign Service
• The Global Leaders Fellowship at George Washington University offers scholarships for MA and PhD students from low income countries
• The Harvard South Africa Fellowship Program
• The African Women Public Service Fellowship at NYU-Wagner School of Public Policy
• EADB scholarships for math, science and technology graduate programs at Rutgers and NJIT
• The Knight-Hennessey Scholars program offers funding for graduate study at Stanford to students from around the world
• Stanford’s Africa MBA Fellowship
• The Harambee Entrepreneur Alliance offers scholarships for business schools at Stanford, Fletcher, Yale and Oxford
• The American Association of University Women offers scholarships for women who are not US citizens and wish to pursue MAs or PhDs in the US
• The Fulbright Foreign Student program provides funding for students who would like to study in the US at a variety of institutions
• The Richard A. Horovitz Fund offers scholarships to African students currently enrolled at US universities
• The Ibrahim Foundation Scholarships support study at several universities in the US and UK
• Scholars from Sudan and South Sudan are eligible for Banaa scholarships for study in the US
• Students from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa can apply for one year of study in the US through the Community College Initiative Program
• The Aspen New Voices Fellowship offers a year-long training program for development experts from low-income countries in Africa and elsewhere
• The Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, through the US State Department
• The Dag Hammarskjöld fund covers the expenses of journalists from low income countries who travel to New York to cover the annual UN General Assembly session
• The United States Institute of Peace offers four-month fellowships through the Sudanese and South Sudanese Youth Leaders Program
• Yale’s Young African Scholars Program is a weeklong leadership program for secondary school students from Ghana and Ethiopia

Other Resources

• The Chinese government offers scholarships for BA, MA, and PhD study in China *
• Toptal Scholarships for Women are available for women from countries around the world
• The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World offers four-year PhD funding for study at a variety of institutions
• The Hegg Hoffet Fund provides grants to female graduate students who have been displaced by conflict
• The Aga Khan Foundation offers postgraduate fellowships to students from low income countries
• Schwartzman Scholars supports students doing a one-year MA in Global Affairs at Tsinghua University
• The Australia Awards support students from a variety of African countries who would like to study in Australia
• The African Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarship Program supports students from South Africa and Senegal doing MAs in public finance, public policy or public administration at Canadian universities
• Microsoft’s 4Afrika scholarships support African students enrolled at the online University of the People
• The MasterCard Foundation provides scholarships for African students to universities around the world
• The Association of African Universities has an internship program for students at African universities
• Faculty for the Future offers PhD scholarships for women from low income countries in the STEM fields (via John Quattrochi)
• The WorldFish Centre and IDRC have a really large (if now slightly outdated) list of scholarships, fellowships and post-docs (via Jon Harle, who also has his own great list of scholarships)
• Melina Platas Izama, Zainab Usman, and Ken Opalo all have excellent scholarship lists as well

(Image at the top from here)