Deadline: December
Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa
Supporting the next generation of African academics working on peace, security and development issues
The program, launched in June 2011, responds to a shortage of experienced faculty in African higher education. The Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program provides fellowships to nurture the intellectual development and increase retention of early-career faculty in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The program assists fellows to develop research opportunities and skills, obtain doctoral degrees, and participate in robust research communities.
Toward this end, the project features a thematic focus in order to renew basic research agendas addressing peace, security, and development topics as well as strengthen interdisciplinary social science research capacity on these issues. Funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York, this project offers a replicable model at scale and complements foundation initiatives to develop and strengthen the next generation of African scholars.
The program features three distinct competitive fellowship opportunities for early-career social science faculty who hold positions in accredited colleges and universities in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda:
- Doctoral dissertation proposal fellowship: Supporting short-term research costs of up to US$3,000 to develop a doctoral dissertation proposal.
- Doctoral dissertation research fellowship: Supporting 9-12 months of dissertation research costs of up to US$15,000 on a topic related to peace, security, and development.
- Doctoral dissertation completion fellowship: Supporting a one-year leave from teaching responsibilities with a stipend of up to US$15,000 to permit the completion of a dissertation that advances research on peace, security, and development topics.
Eligibility
All applicants must be citizens of and reside in a sub-Saharan African country while holding a current part-time or full-time faculty position (typically teaching assistant, research assistant, assistant lecturer or lecturer) at an accredited college or university in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda.
Additionally, applicants must meet the following criteria for any of the given fellowship opportunities.
Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship – US $3,000 in support of preliminary research intended to strengthen the doctoral dissertation proposal:
1. Applicants must be enrolled in a Ph.D. program by the start of the fellowship period
2. Applicants must be working on a dissertation proposal which they will submit for approval by the end of the fellowship period
3. Applicants must work on a topic related to peace, security, and development
Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship – US $15,000 in support of 9-12 months of doctoral dissertation research:
1. Applicants must be enrolled in a Ph.D program
2. Applicants must have an approved dissertation proposal and are still in the data collection
phase of their research
3. Applicants must work on a topic related to peace, security, and development
Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship – US $15,000 in support of the completion of the doctoral dissertation:
1. Applicants must be enrolled in a Ph.D. program
2. Applicants must be able to complete their dissertations in the fellowship period (i.e. in the
course of one year)
3. Applicants must have completed at least one chapter of the dissertation
4. Applicants must work on a topic related to peace, security, and development
Application
The application consists of the following (all to be submitted online):
Completed Online Application Form
Executive Summary of Project (no more than 150 words)
Short Narrative Explaining Fit of the Topic to Peace, Security, and Development (no more than 200 words)
Personal Biography
Uploaded Bibliography
Uploaded Narrative Proposal (no more than 7 pages)
Uploaded References (2)
Uploaded Language Evaluation Form (if necessary)
Applicants for the Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship also will be required to upload their approved dissertation proposals.
Applicants for the Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship also will be required to upload one completed chapter of their dissertation.
Online Application
Applications for the Next Gen Fellowship Program can only be submitted through the SSRC’s Online Application Portal. Please contact us if this poses difficulties for you.
Online Administration Form
You will be asked to enter information about the department and university in which you are teaching, the department and university in which you are pursuing a Ph.D., and additional information about your education, your publication, and your research history.
References Letters
Two Reference Letters must be submitted with your application. One Reference Letter must come from your principal faculty advisor. The second letter should be from someone who is familiar with your work and academic interests. Only two Reference Letters will be accepted. You may choose to send a copy of your Project Proposal to referees so that they may evaluate the statement and
comment on your ability to carry it out.
The letters must be uploaded in PDF form by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on January 15, 2014 by your Reference Letter writers.
Submission
This program also offers two workshops each year to help fellows master research methodologies, engage key literature in their fields, and produce research publications. The Next Generation African Social Sciences program will support approximately 45 fellows each year across all three fellowship opportunities.
All applications must be submitted using the online application portal.
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
Upon successful submission of your application, you will receive an email confirmation from the SSRC. Please contact nextgen@ssrc.org if you do not receive this email within 24 hours of submission.
Please note that it is in your best interest to submit your application in advance of the deadline to avoid any technical difficulties. Once submitted, you will not be able to revise your application.
If you have questions about the application process, please consult the FAQs. If your question is not answered there, please contact program staff at nextgen@ssrc.org.
Next Generation Social Science in Africa Fellowship Application Guideline
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