The Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa has issued its call for proposals for a fellowship opportunity for African researchers with the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa: Perspectives in Peace, Security, and Development Fellowship.
Application Deadline: December 1, 2014.
The Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program responds to an emerging dilemma within African higher education caused by the extraordinary emphasis on increasing undergraduate enrollment without proportionate investment in faculty development. This situation erodes the ability of universities to produce the next generation of researchers, leaders, and practitioners addressing pressing topics.
The program offers fellowships to nurture the intellectual development of early-career faculty in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. Support for researchers in Kenya was added to the program this year.
The program features three distinct competitive fellowship opportunities for early-career social science faculty who hold positions in accredited colleges and universities but have yet to complete the doctoral degree:
- 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 faculty position at an accredited college or university in Ghana, Kenya, 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 within an African university. The program seeks to promote diversity and encourages women to apply.
Eligibility for Specific Fellowships
- To be eligible for the US$3,000 dissertation proposal fellowship, applicants must be admitted to a PhD program by the start date of the fellowship and working to develop a dissertation proposal.
- To be eligible for the US$15,000 dissertation research fellowship, applicants must have an approved dissertation proposal but not yet have undertaken substantial dissertation research (typically six or more months).
- To be eligible for the US$15,000 dissertation completion fellowship, applicants must be in the final year of writing and have completed at least one chapter of the dissertation.
Thematic Priority
The program encourages innovative research on peace, security, and development topics that moves the boundaries of scholarship and research by exploring concrete linkages between these themes. We envision supporting a diverse set of projects grappling with a range of processes using evidence-based research across both global and local perspectives. Some projects, we hope, will examine large-scale phenomena, and others small-scale social processes. The strongest projects typically will explore connections across these scales. Applicants, for example, might propose projects exploring global flows of refugees across country borders and continents or the state of internally displaced persons affected by local and regional disruptions to livelihood and economic security. Others might look at street theater in refugee camps. Similarly, some fellows might test the proposition that global financial markets contribute to peace and stability, while others might examine the dynamics of local market culture in unstable regions.
We also support work that advances contemporary research on peace and security issues, including research on human security, economic insecurity, livelihoods and resilience, and failure of governance. Projects might explore any range of issues, including soaring unemployment rates, widespread discrimination against populations, the effects of climate change on food security and water basins, and the threats any one of these issues pose to peace, security, and development efforts. Above all, projects should advance important fields of study, social science knowledge, and knowledge about pressing issues in Africa.
Application Process
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 and detail what work has been undertaken on the project to date. All proposals will be evaluated for these criteria by an independent, international committee of leading scholars from a range of social science disciplines.
All applications must be submitted using the online application portal.
We anticipate awarding as many as 45 fellowships for this cycle.
Deadline
The next application deadline is December 1, 2014.
For inquiries or technical questions pertaining to the online application portal, please contact program staff: nextgenafrica@ssrc.org.
The Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
