2015 Borlaug Higher Education Agricultural Research and Development (BHEARD) Scholarship Program

Application Deadlines:

Liberia: 22 August 2014.

Ghana: 29 August 2014.

Scholarship Opportunities Under the Borlaug Higher Education Agricultural Research and Development (BHEARD) Program

 Under its Feed the Future initiative, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched the Borlaug Higher Education Agricultural Research and Development (BHEARD) Program. Implemented by Michigan State University (MSU), the BHEARD program honors the legacy of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug.

The BHEARD program will support long-term training of agricultural and food security researchers and policy advisors at the master’s and doctoral levels. This is a major new effort to increase the number of agricultural scientists and policy advisors and strengthen scientific institutions in developing countries.

The Borlaug Higher Education Agricultural Research and Development (BHEARD) program aims to increase the agricultural research capacity in specific institutions in the target countries by training staff members for either M.S. or PhD degrees.  Training is usually in the U.S., but may also be offered in the home country or a third country.  All research projects must be undertaken in the trainee’s home country.

Worth:

• In addition to providing all expenses for the trainee, the BHEARD program also provides doctoral students with a pre-dissertation trip to their home country.
• The academic advisor of each student (both MS and PhD) is provided with a trip to the student’s country during the research period in order to assist the student and to make contacts with the student’s home institution.

 The target institutions identified by the USAID mission in each country are:

Ghana:

• University for Development Studies
• University of Ghana, Legon
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
• University of Cape Coast

 Mid-level career personnel from the following institutions* may also apply:

• Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning
• Ministry of Food and Agriculture
• Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) institutes such as:
  • Savannah Agricultural Research Institute
  • Crop Research Institute
  • Soil Research Institute

 *Current staff from other public universities and private sector agribusiness are also welcome to apply.

Liberia:

Eligibility is limited to current staff or faculty members from the following institutions:

• Ministry of Agriculture
• Central Agricultural Research Institute

Priority will be given to applicants who desire training in the following subject areas:

• Ministry of Agriculture:  agricultural economics, agribusiness, and the general area of data analysis, planning, statistics, and policy development; social impact analysis as it pertains to these areas
• Central Agricultural Research Institute:  development of rice and cassava;  fisheries and aquaculture

Malawi:

• Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), particularly Bunda College of Agriculture
• Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS)
• Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS)

Priority will be given to applicants who desire training in the following subject areas:

• DARS: biometrics, crop & soil science, and food science
• LUANAR:  human nutrition, animal, crop and soil sciences, agricultural economics and agribusiness
• MoAFS:  all fields related to agriculture

For More Information, visit the scholarship page for the participating countries:

• Ghana
• Liberia
• Malawi

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Borlaug Higher Education Agricultural Research and Development