African Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowships (ADDRF)

The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is offering around 20 doctoral dissertation fellowships at a recognized sub-Saharan African university. Each award will be up to a maximum of US$10,000. Fellowships will be awarded to doctoral students who are within two years of completing their thesis at an African university and whose dissertation topics focus on health systems. The application deadline is January 15th, 2015.
Study Subject(s): Fellowships are awarded to doctoral students whose dissertation topics focus on health systems.
Course Level: Fellowships are available to doctoral students who are within two years of completing their thesis at a recognized sub-Saharan African university.
Scholarship Provider: The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Scholarship can be taken at: Sub-Saharan Africa
Eligibility: The fellowship will primarily support research (including data collection and/or analysis). Funds will not be used to support coursework. Applicants must:
– Be citizens or permanent residents of a sub-Saharan African country
-Be undertaking doctoral training at a recognized sub-Saharan African university
-Have completed all pre-dissertation requirements
-Provide a detailed time-frame for completing their dissertation which should be endorsed by the head of department or the chair of the dissertation committee,
-Have a research topic that has been approved by their doctoral dissertation committee, as well as the official body overseeing ethical review of the research protocol (or a waiver of ethical committee if applicable), and
-Be able to complete their dissertation within 24 months of the start of the fellowship.
Scholarship Open for International Students: Citizens from Sub-Saharan Africa (Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) can apply for these fellowships.
Scholarship Description:

The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), in partnership with the International development Research Centre (IDRC), is pleased to announce the eighth call for applications for the African Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowships (ADDRF). The ADDRF Fellowship Program seeks to facilitate more rigorous engagement of doctoral students in research, strengthen their research skills, and provide them an opportunity for timely completion of their doctoral training. The Program targets doctoral students with strong commitment to a career in training and/or research. The overall goal of the ADDRF Program is to support the training and retention of highly-skilled, locally-trained scholars in research and academic positions across the region.

Number of award(s): The ADDRF will award about 20 fellowships in 2015.
Duration of award(s): Not Known
What does it cover? Each award will be up to a maximum of US$10,000. This amount will include a completion award of $ 1,000; allowances for a laptop computer and analytical software (e.g. STATA, SPSS, Nudist, Atlas/ti) (US$ 1,500); research/data collection (US$ 5,500); and participation in one regional or international conference or workshop (US$ 2,000). Successful candidates will attend at least one week-long training workshop (Attending the workshop(s) is mandatory). All 2015 awardees are expected to attend a research methodology workshop tentatively scheduled for May 11-15, 2015. During the workshops, grantees will receive training and mentorship on various aspects of research (design and methods, ethics, data analyses, scientific writing, proposal development and communication of research results, etc.). The working language for these workshops is English. The students’ home institutions may receive an institutional overhead to support the department and dissertation committee in ensuring timely review of dissertation chapters. Supervisors, whose students complete their PhD within 2 years and who, during the fellowship duration, publish at least one research paper in a peer-reviewed international journal or book with the ADDRF fellow under their supervision, will be eligible to apply for travel awards amounting to $2,500. Three travel grants will be awarded each year (2015-2017). Awards will be subject to the supervisor having a paper accepted for oral presentation in a health systems-focused conference. Africa- based supervisors of fellows studying at Francophone universities will be given special considerations for travel grants. Travel awards will be made directly to the supervisors.
Selection Criteria:
-Candidates whose dissertation topics address health policy or health systems issues and show great promise of making substantive contribution to strengthening health systems in Africa will be given priority.
-The fellowship will support original qualitative and quantitative research that addresses a clear research question, employs appropriate and rigorous design, and has unambiguous national or regional policy implication(s).
-Candidates must demonstrate interest in pursuing a research career and dissertations must be sufficiently linked to future research interests.
-The dissertation should ideally be related to other work going on in the department or should have received strong endorsement and support from the department.
-Female applicants and those from Francophone and Lusophone countries are especially encouraged to apply
Notification: The fellowship program is expected to result in several high-quality doctoral dissertations from sub-Saharan African universities. Successful applicants will be required to publish at least one peer-reviewed article from their dissertation within three years of receiving the award.
How to Apply: The application form and the following supporting documents should be submitted in a single email:
-A completed application form. This form must be submitted electronically in MS Word format.
-Proof of citizenship or permanent residence in a sub-Saharan African country (e.g. copy of passport or other national identification);
-Two letters of reference (at least one must come from a faculty member with extensive knowledge of applicant’s academic history and performance and must document how the candidate’s dissertation research fits into ongoing research programs in the department). Referees’ contact information must be provided in the application form.
-Evidence that the research protocol has undergone review and received approval from an approved ethical review board and the dissertation committee or is under review for the same.
Scholarship Application Deadline: The application deadline is January 15th, 2015.